Book 2: Earthly Barriers
by ATLAGDL12
Summary: This is an alternate Book 2 where Aang gets separated from Sokka, Katara and Toph. In the process an unspoken romance blooms and the world awaits for the moment they reunite. I promise my writing will get better as time goes on. I own nothing. RENAMED AGAIN.
1. Chapter 1: Shock and Confusion

Chapter 1: Shock and Confusion

It was a calm and peaceful morning in the Northern earth kingdom. The sun had already risen above the horizon. The gaang had just met Toph and brought her along to be Aangs earthbending teacher; she had already taught Aang some basic earthbending moves. They were still recovering from the siege of the North Pole; Sokka being himself wanted to stay at their camp for an extra day so they could all recover.

Katara had chosen the campsite as it was secluded and near a river so they would be well hidden and her and Aang could practice waterbending. They set up camp about ten yards from the river with their sleeping bags in a circle around the fire, all except toph who decided to sleep in Appa's saddle.

They all sat around the dwindling campfire eating their breakfast when the silence was broken, "Can we stayyyy?" Sokka pleaded. "I need my warrior's rest."

Toph agreed, "Yeah, some more rest sounds good." Although she had not been at the siege of the North Pole.

Katara nodded in agreement, "I do think we deserve some rest." she exclaimed.

"We can't stay in one place for long, remember." Aang said with a worried tone.

Katara gave him a reassuring smile, "It is only one extra day and you need to rest after what you did at the North Pole."

This obviously hit a nerve as Aang cringed and looked away from Katara remembering what he did to the Fire Nation fleet while inside the Avatar State. Destroying all those ships and sending sailors to their doom. He would never purposely kill any one, but while in the Avatar State he had no control and he hated it.

Katara noticed his reaction; she felt bad as something sharp had pierced her heart. She tried to reassure him, "You did what you had to do, Aang. If you didn't the North Pole would have been lost and…"

Katara was cut off by Aang, who clearly had enough about 'what he did', "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, KATARA! YOU WEREN'T RAISED TO HOLD ALL LIFE SACRED!"

Katara was shocked and saddened but let her anger take control, "WHAT, ARE YOU CALLING ME A MURDERER NOW!?"

Aang was utterly shocked by this question. He looked at Katara with his storm gray eyes fogging over with tears. He never thought she would accuse him of calling her a murderer. Toph and Sokka were both dumbstruck as well. Toph knew all too well to just stay out of the way. At this this point the silence was unbearable, Katara lost it, "AREN'T YOU GOING TO SAY SOMETHING, OH WISE AVATAR!?"

Aang turned away and started to cry, not only from her accusation but he was also scared. He managed to whimper a small, "I'm sorry." that no one heard.

Sokka had not seen Katara like this in a long time. He placed a hand on Katara's shoulder, "Katara, you need to calm down. Aang didn't mean it like tha…"

Katara shoved Sokka aside and looked at him in anger, "Well that's what it sounded like to me." Katara said sternly. Sokka then turned his attention to Aang, who was clearly distraught, giving him a cautious but reassuring smile.

At hearing what Katara said, Aang stood up and walked off into the woods behind their camp with his head down and tears running down his cheeks; saddened that he made Katara, his closest friend and crush, think that he called her a murderer. Whispering a pitiful, "I'm sorry." he walked off into the woods.

Katara couldn't help but feel bad, but she was still feeling pretty heated herself so she walked off to the shore of the river and sat with her knees pulled into her chest. Toph finally spoke up, "I'm going to go find twinkletoes." and walked off into the woods leaving Sokka with Appa and Momo.

Sokka thought to himself, ' _Well, I probably should let Katara calm down before I talk to her.'_ He had never seen her overreact like this before and he wasn't sure what would have caused it. He figured it was a nightmare she had the night before that had caused her to lose sleep, but he couldn't say for sure.

 _Meanwhile,_

Zuko and Iroh had finally reached the fire nation port.

A soft moaned followed by, "This is what I have been missing." as his back was being massaged. "Who knew floating on a piece of drift-wood for three week with no food or water, and sea vultures waiting to pluck out your liver could make one so tense."

A sudden realization struck Iroh. He wandered over to a pouting Zuko, "I see...it's the anniversary isn't it?"

Zuko replied coldly, "Three years ago today I was banished, I lost it all. I want it back. I want the Avatar. I want my honor; my throne. I want my father not to think I am worthless."

With an enthusiastic tone Iroh replied with a lifting of his right hand, "I'm sure he doesn't. Why would he banish you if he didn't care?"

Zuko shot him a glare an walked outside. Iroh, realizing what he said didn't sound right stated to the two masseuses, "That came out wrong, didn't it?"

(A/N This is where I get lazy and don't want to write out about Azula's introduction. Remember her addressing her soldiers.)

 _Back at the gaang's campsite,_

Aang leaned against a tree about thirty yard from their camp with his knees tucked into his chest sobbing into them. He felt cold; not physically, but emotionally. ' _Why would she think that? Does she really not like me the way I thought she did?'_ A shiver ran down his spine at this thought. His eyes were beginning to get puffy and bloodshot as he heard the sharp crack of a twig. He thought it was Katara, He didn't want her to see him like this, afraid that she would just avoid him and make him feel even worse. He managed to whimper a quiet, "Go away." Much to his surprise it wasn't Katara.

"Hey, Twinkletoes." Toph managed with a sympathetic tone.

"Oh, hey Toph." Aang replied. "Sorry for telling you to go away."

"Don't worry about it."

There was a long silence between the two twelve year old master benders until Toph decided to break it.

"I know why you're feeling this way."

"How could you possibly know that." Aang replied.

"Because you love her, more than just a friend."

Aang froze, shocked to hear that only after a couple of days Toph knows about his crush; he began to stutter, "No…I mean as a frie...wait...what makes you say that?"

With a flat tone, Toph replied, "Because I can feel emotions. In fact I know she loves you too."

Aangs eyes widened; surprised to hear the last part, "She does?"

"Yes, whenever you two are near each other, look at each other, talk to each other, and especially waterbend with each other; your guy's' heart beats go a million miles a minute.

Aang looked down, "But then why did she yell at me?"

"Because of her suppressed feelings she overreacted to your explanation and took it the wrong way."

Aang sat there speechless. He had no idea Toph could feel all of that and how she could be so insightful. Tired of waiting for Aang to reply she walked away and said, "Just think about what I said."

Aang replied, "Thank you." with a smile.

Aang looked down again and pondered what to do and decided to sleep at the edge of the camp, as not rile her up again, and talk to Katara tomorrow. Later that night Aang returned to camp and glanced at Katara, who was sitting on her sleeping bag. She turned her head to look away from him with anger still present in her beautiful ocean blue eyes. Aang sighed as he felt something stab him in the heart. He loved her and he hated seeing her like this especially if he was the cause of it. He laid down hoping for a better day tomorrow as everyone laid down in their respective spots; Sokka, near Katara and the fire, and Toph who was in Appa's saddle.

 _Meanwhile,_

Iroh woke up to a shot of lightning, realizing it was most likely Azula, judging by the clear weather they were having.

Later that day, Iroh dumped a bag of shells on the table of their temporary shells, commenting about their magnificence.

Zuko, fed up with his actions scorned him, "We don't need any more useless things; you forget we have to carry everything ourselves now."

From the corner came a eerie voice, "Hello, brother; Uncle."

Zuko shot Azula a cold stare, "What are you doing here?"

"In my country we exchange a pleasant 'hello' before asking questions. Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zuzu?"

"Don't call me that!" Zuko replied raising his voice.

Iroh chimed in, obviously annoyed, "To what do we owe this honor?"

"Hmm...must be a family trait, both of you so quick to get to the point." Azula replied crushing one of Iroh's new shells. "I've come with a message from home. Father has changed his mind; family is suddenly very important to him. He's heard rumors of plans to overthrow him. treacherous plots." Zuko looked suprised. "Family are the only ones you can really trust." Azula looks down with a saddened expression, "Father regrets you banishment." She turns to look out at the blooming cherry blossoms, "He wants you home." After a pause she looks back at Zuko and gets impatient, "Did you hear me? You should be happy, excited, grateful. I just gave you great news." Zuko turns to look out at the cherry blossoms.

Iroh replied for him, "I'm sure your brother simply needs a moment..."

"DON'T INTERUPT UNCLE!" Azula cut him off then turned to Zuko, "I still haven't heard my thank you. I'm not a messenger. I didn't have to come all this way."

Zuko closed his eyes and replied solemnly, "Father regrets? He... wants me back?"

"I see you need time to take this in. I'll come to call on you tomorrow." Azula replied then walked out saying, "Good evening."

As Azula walked back to her ship a fire nation messenger ran up to the princess, "Princess, the Avatar has been spotted nearby."

"Then send a detachment at once to capture him." she replied sharply.

"Yes, my lady." The messenger replied hastily.

An evil smile played across her face, "3 enemies in one day."

 _Later that evening as darkness had already fallen,_

"We're going home. After three long years, it's unbelievable." Said Zuko excitedly as he walked to pack up his things.

Iroh, pondering what Azula had said, replied, "It is unbelievable. I have never known my brother to regret anything."

"Did you listen to Azula? Father has realized how important family really is to him. He cares about me."

"I care about you! And if Ozai wants you back, well, I think it may not be for the reasons you imagine."

"You don't know how my father feels about me. You don't know anything."

"Zuko, I only meant that in our family, things are not always what they seem."

"I think you are exactly what you seem: a lazy , mistrustful, shallow old man who's always been jealous of his brother." Responded Zuko coldly and walked away leaving a disappointed Iroh.

 _Back at camp,_

Yue was shining brightly over the camp. Sokka's loud snoring filled the surrounding area with a growling type noise when suddenly Aang woke up. He thought he had heard something, as he looked around camp, everyone still soundly asleep, he thought it must have been nothing. As he sat back down a hand covered his mouth from behind as another reached under his left arm, around his torso, and under his right arm. There were muffled yells for help, but nobody heard it because of his proximity to the camp. As he was being dragged away, Aang began to frag his feet and kick at the man taking him. Suddenly he felt something crash on his head and everything went black.

 _The next morning back at the fire nation port,_

Zuko began to walked down the long steps to the docks when he heard a call from behind.

"Wait, don't leave without me."

"Uncle, you've changed your mind." Stated Zuko ecstatically.

Putting a hand on Zuko's shoulder, Iroh replied, "Family sticks together right." Remembering his own son.

"We're finally going home."

Iroh looked down at Azula's ship with suspicion.

As they arrived at the dock, Iroh was still very suspicious as Azula spoke at the top of the ramp to the ship, "Brother, Uncle, welcome." followed with a bow. "I'm so glad you decided to come."

The captain spoke up, "Are you ready to depart, your highness?"

Azula replied with a plastered smile, "Set our course for home, captain."

"Home." whispered Zuko

The captain barked his orders, "You heard the princess; raise the anchors. We're taking the prisoners hom..." And realized his mistake.

Azula shot him an angry glare.

"Your highness, I..."

Iroh's suspicions were true and Zuko was in complete shock. A battle ensued. Iroh against the royal guard and Zuko against his sister. After redirecting Azula's lightning into a nearby cliff and kicking her off the ship, Zuko and Iroh ran. They were now enemies of the fire nation. After they were a safe distance away, they stopped at the bank of a stream. Zuko pulled out a small knife and proceeded to cut his ponytail. Iroh did the same dropping it into the water, letting their past lives drift away in the current.

Suddenly they heard a rustle in the bushes across the stream. They assumed their fighting stances.

 _Back at the gaang's camp,_

Everyone, including Katara, slept in. As they began to get up, Toph slid down Appa's tail and hit the ground. She felt something was off, "Guys, something is wrong but I don't know what."

Katara replied bewildered. "Wait, where's Aang?"

Toph suddenly realized why she felt like something was off, "Oh no." she said somberly.

"What is it?" Replied Katara with concern.

"He's gone."

Katara ran over to where Aang was sleeping the night before. Tears began to fill Katara's eyes as she noticed drag marks and his staff on the ground. She couldn't believe that he was just gone. An inextinguishable fire began to burn in her stomach as anger filled her very soul. Then another wave of sadness and realization hit her like a tsunami. She remembered the argument they had the day before and what she had done to him. She broke down and dropped to her knees crying. She began to whimper and shake her head in disbelief as she began to drown in her sorrow.

 _To be continued…_

Thanks for reading, please review. This is my first fanfic so all criticism is constructive.

The next chapter will focus more on Aang, Zuko and Iroh. A bit of kataang angst mixed in, like the end of this chapter.


	2. Chapter 2: New Friends

**Summary:**

 **Aang is gone. Zuko and Iroh are wanted fugitives. And Katara is a complete wreck. This chapter will focus primarily on Aang. Some good kataangst mixed in. I own nothing.**

Chapter 2: New Friends

Katara ran over to where Aang was sleeping the night before. Tears began to fill Katara's eyes as she noticed drag marks and his staff on the ground. She couldn't believe that he was just gone. An inextinguishable fire began to burn in her stomach as anger filled her very soul. Then another wave of sadness and realization hit her like a tsunami. She remembered the argument they had the day before and what she had done to him. She broke down and dropped to her knees crying. She began to whimper and shake her head in disbelief as she began to drown in her sorrow.

She clutched onto Aang's staff and hugged it close to her body. She began to rock back and forth with her knees tucked close to her chest and Aang's staff in her hands. Tears streamed down her face like a torrent from a flooding river. She couldn't even begin to think of what Aang is going through. She felt a hand gently grab her left shoulder. She gave a half look at her brother and whispered one word.

"Why?"

Confused, Sokka replied, "What do you mean?"

"Why...did they take...him from me...us?" She said shakily. "And how...did they take him...without us noticing?"

Toph spoke up with guilt in her voice, "They probably knocked him out." she sighed, "And because I slept on Appa I couldn't feel them?" A single tear rolled out of her eye. Toph never felt like this before, but she had just lost a new friend while Sokka and Katara had just lost family.

Katara not seeing Toph crying snapped around to glare at the blind earthbender, "HOW COULD YOU..." She trailed off at the sight of Toph's tears. Realizing her mistake, she walked to the earthender and gave her a soft hug, "I am so sorry, Toph. I didn't mean to blame you. I am just shocked."

Sokka seeing how distraught his sister was pulled her into a long hug and whispered, "Everything will be alright."

Katara shot a look at him of sadness and desperation, "How? My...our best friend is gone." There was a short pause. "I said so many bad things to him last night." She sniffled as another bout of tears escaped, "And now he's...he's... he's gone." Katara dropped to her knees again and sobbed into her hands.

"We will find him." Sokka replied reassuringly.

Katara didn't move. Sokka had never seen her this way; even when they had lost their mother. He thought it best to leave her alone. As he walked away, Toph hurried to catch up.

"Will Aang be alright?" The young earthbender asked Sokka.

He looked over his shoulder at his broken sister, "I think we be asking 'Will Katara be alright?'"

 _Meanwhile,_

The young airbender opened his eyes to the searing light of the sun and what felt like a knife through his head. He felt his body laying belly-down on the back of something uncomfortable and smelly. He turned his head and realized his hands were tied with a piece of rope while on the back of a Komodo Rhino.

"Wakey wakey, boy." Came a cocky and sarcastic tone. "I hope you had a good night's sleep."

Aang turned to see the fire nation soldier on the Komodo Rhino behind his own.

"Actually, I did." Aang replied cheerfully. "But I think I caught a cold."

"What makes you say that?" Replied the soldier dryly.

"Because I have to sneeze."

The souldier then cocked his head to one side, confused.

Aang then proceeded to take in a huge volume of air through his nose and letting out an enormous sneeze; launching him into the air causing him to do four flips before landing safely on the ground. He the set his sights on the spear thing **(A/N: I don't know what they are called.)** lying on the ground next to him. Before he could use it to cut the bindings off his wrists, He was surrounded by four Komodo Rhinos with two men on each of them. The commander spoke up.

"You thought you could escape so easily." He chuckled, "We are smarter then we look, wait, that came out wrong." He paused, "Never mind, what I meant to say is that we are not stupid."

A small smirk began to play on Aang's lips, "Yeah, you are pretty stupid." At this, Aang stomped his foot on the ground sending dust into the air (A/N: Toph has taught Aang basic earthbending) and then proceeded to run around in circles, with the aid of his airbending, to send even more dust into the air. He was all but invisible to the firebenders. He ran over to the spear and cut the bindings off of his wrists. With his hands now free, Aang sent a hug gust of air in all directions clearing the area of dust and knocking all the rhino's and soldiers down. He then darted towards the tree line; disappearing in an instant.

The fire nation soldiers gathered themselves and discovered the Avatar had escaped. All the soldier turned to look at their commander.

He sighed, "I will inform the princess of the Avatar's escape."

 _Meanwhile,_

Everything was a blur. Trees, rocks and bushes moving past him in an instant. He ran and ran as fast as he could until he knew he was safe. As he stopped to catch his breath, Aang noticed the beautiful cherry blossoms swaying in the wind above him. A tear ran down his face. They reminded him of Katara, and he now realized he has no clue where he is or if his friends are alright. As he pondered this, he realized that if the fire nation were to want all of them they would have just attacked he and his friends. But, no, they just attacked him. He figured they would be safe but now they are worried sick of his disappearance. He needed help to reunite with them. He figured he would head to Omashu to find King Bumi and ask for his help, but first he needed to figure out where he was. At that moment, he heard a stream up ahead. Surely there would be people near the water and he could get something to drink. He walked forward and pushed his way through some bushes. He looked up and froze in shock and fear as he reached the water's edge and assumed his battle stance.

 _Meanwhile,_

Zuko and Iroh ran. They were now enemies of the fire nation. After they were a safe distance away, they stopped at the bank of a stream. Zuko pulled out a small knife and proceeded to cut his ponytail. Iroh did the same dropping it into the water, letting their past lives drift away in the current. Suddenly, they heard a rustle in the bushes across the stream. They assumed their fighting stances.

A young boy stumbled out of the bushes across the stream. He took two steps forward and froze in shock then assumed his battle stance.

"The Avatar!" Said Zuko.

Zuko blasted a ball of fire towards the Avatar which was quickly smothered out by the water raised in his defense. Before the Avatar could retaliate, the fight was interrupted by a loud yell.

"ZUKO!" Yelled Iroh in a strong and commanding tone. "STOP! NOW!"

"But...he's the Avatar." Replied a confused Zuko. "We can take him to Azula; she will clear our record and my father will restore my honor."

Aang was confused and dropped his arms to his sides while knee deep in the river. He thought Zuko was just a commander, not a criminal. He decided to let his uncle, the man who helped them restore the moon spirit at the North Pole, deal with the situation now that they weren't fighting.

"My brother will not restore your honor." Iroh retorted. "And do you think Azula will let you return home with the Avatar. She would take you and the Avatar for herself!"

Zuko looked down in contemplation. Weighing the options, he became confused and stormed off into the woods behind them.

Aang looked at Zuko with concern as he stormed off. The airbender strode out of the stream and up to Iroh, "Do you think he is going to tell, Azula was it, about me?"

"No, he's just thinking." Iroh turned back to Aang, "Where are my manners, I am Zuko's Uncle, Iroh." He bowed

Aang bowed in return, "I am Aang, the Avatar." Then pondered for a moment, "May I ask what you two were arguing about?"

"Ahh, so you haven't heard the story."

Aang shook his head.

"Well, three years ago Zuko was banished by his father, my brother, for being disrespectful and 'doomed' to chase the Avatar, you, forever since you had disappeared a hundred years ago. After the fire nations failure at the North Pole, the Fire Lord blamed Zuko and I for it. He sent Zuko's sister, Azula, to trick us into coming back. When her captain accidentally alerted us to her plans, we fought the crew off and escaped. We are now fugitives of the fire nation as you see us now."

"So...are you two against the Fire Nation now?"

"In a way we are...I don't think Zuko sees it that way yet."

"So...can I at least call you a friend."

"Yes you can. I realized a long time ago that the Fire Nation is corrupt and evil; I was buying my time until it was right to leave." Iroh then had a puzzled look on his face, "How did you end up here by yourself anyway? Where are your friends?"

"That is why I was hoping I could call you a friend."

"What happened?

"Well...I woke up last night thinking I heard something then someone covered my mouth and knocked me out. I woke up on the back of a Komodo Rhino and escaped. I then ran here."

"Were your friends captured?" Asked Iroh concerned for the young boy in front of him.

"I think they are safe. If they wanted all of us, they would have just attacked rather than kidnapping me." Aang looked down with a tear running down his face.

"Don't worry young man...you said it yourself, they are safe." Iroh replied concerned.

"It's not that...I miss them and I had an argument with Katara last night.

"The young master waterbender." Iroh interrupted.

"Yes, I just feel so bad that that is the last thing we had together; a stupid argument."

Aang sits down on the shore of the stream, looking into the water. Iroh joins him.

"I am sure she realizes it was stupid as well. In situations like these, forgiveness is easy to come by."

Aang sniffles, "I know, but that doesn't mean I can forgive myself."

Iroh gives him a coupe sympathetic pats on the back, "Don't worry, we will find them. But first we need a plan." Iroh paused, "If I am not mistaken, you are to master water, earth, then fire."

Aang nodded, "I have mastered water and know basic earthbending." There was a moment of silence. "I was planning on going to Omashu to learn more from king Bumi once I realized I was seperated from my friend."

"Ahh...Bumi."

"You know him?" Asked Aang in complete shock,

"Yes...but that is not important right now. It is a two week journey east to Omashu from here; we should get moving tomorrow."

"Thank you for all your help, Iroh."

"It is my honor." Iroh stood up, "Let's find some shelter, my nephew and some tea leaves."

After a short walk into the surrounding forest, Aang and Iroh found tea leaves and a cave to stay in. However, it was already occupied by a disgruntled banished prince.

"So...we are taking him as our prisoner?" Stated Zuko, dryly.

"Zuko." Iroh replied sternly. "Show some respect towards my new best friend."

"WHAT!" Zuko shot up and hit his head on the cieling of the cave. Aang barely suppressed a giggle. Zuko rubbed the top of his head, "Why are we doing this, Uncle?"

"We are no longer wanted in the Fire Nation. Now we can do what is right and help Aang fulfill his destiny." Replied Iroh with a smile.

"But, what about my honor?"

"You will restore your honor by doing what is right?" Exasperated Iroh glanced at Aang and back to Zuko, "Now, be respectful and introduce yourself to our new friend."

Aang smiled and decided to be the initiator. He stepped forward and bowed, "I am Aang, the Avatar. Nice to finally meet you in a kinder setting."

Zuko, bowed reluctantly, "Likewise...Aang."

Iroh piped up, "Good, now let's make some tea."

Zuko sighed and smacked his palm into his forehead.

 _To be continued,_

 **Thank you for reading. This didn't feel like my best piece of writing but please R &R.**


	3. Chapter 3: Thoughts

**Summary:**

 **WARNING! Angst. This will switch back between Aang and Katara as they go through some "situations"**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA; I wish I did, but I don't.**

Chapter 3: Thoughts

 _There was darkness all around. No sound. Just nothing. Then a small glint caught her eye off in the distance. It as a light so she moved closer. Suddenly a cold breeze rush past her as she saw someone, a boy. The boy stood still with shuddering shoulders. As she moved closer to help comfort the boy, she realized it was someone close to her, "Aang?" The boy looked up with tears streaming down his cheeks, past his frown and dripping into the eternal blackness. She froze, shocked by what she saw, "Aang, what's wrong?"_

 _He turned his head slightly away from his gaze and responded solemnly, "You."_

 _At her realization of what he meant, she reached out to touch him only for him to flinch away from her. Tears welled up in her eyes as saddened whisper escaped her lips, "I am so sorry, Aang." He looked at her briefly and slowly shook his head. She dropped to her knees as he turned around and began to walk away, "Please, Aang, don't leave." He continued to walk away, not even looking back at her as he disappeared into the darkness once again. As she looked at the ground she was sitting on, she whimpered a small "Please" between shaky breaths._

Katara's eyes shot open and she sat up. She looked at the sky, seeing that the sun was about to rise above the horizon, leaving beautiful pinks, reds and violets across the sky. There were some lingering gray clouds. Gray clouds, an image of Aangs gentle storm-gray eyes flashed into Katara's forethought. Those playful, passionate, and beautiful eyes. She began to cry, just as she did in her sleep. She longed for him to be there; to share the moment of watching the sunrise as they had done so many times before. She sniffled and wiped the tears away as she got up. She put on her parka, as it was quite chilly that morning, and began to make breakfast. She got down on her knees next to the fire pit and she lit the fire with the spark rocks; suddenly, the silence was shattered by an irritating Sokka,

"What's for breakfast?" He yelled waking Toph, Momo and Appa up.

"Soup." Katara snapped coldly. Not interested in Sokka's desires.

"Really, again?" Sokka remarked more as a statement than a question.

Katara shot him an angry glare as her heart raced in rage. Although still half asleep, Toph could feel the spike in her pulse. She walked over to Sokka and tapped him on the shoulder. He stood up and looked at the blind earth bender with a questioning look.

"I don't think you should be complaining right now, Snoozles." Gesturing towards the enraged water bender. Sokka raised an eyebrow in confusion and then met the angry glare of his sister. His eyes widened as she clenched her fists. He turned his attention back to Toph, whispering, "Oops, sorry." He was relieved when he saw his sister relax. He wasn't sure if she heard his apology or she lost interest, but nonetheless, relief flooded his mind. He did not want to end up frozen to a tree again.

As she saw her brother turn to get ready, Katara felt sadness and despair consume her. She turned her attention to the soup as she began to stir it. The graceful swirling motion of the soup relaxed her. She gazed into the whirlpool, losing her thoughts in it. She saw the beautiful reflection of the sky, here own eyes, her sad smile as she tried to feel at ease, and...the goofy bald monk with an arrow on his head. She look up hoping it was a reflection of him, but when no one else was near, she began to cry. That sweet kid she loves so much. _But is it love?_ She thought. _I mean I like him...but like a brother...right? But I don't feel the same towards Sokka. Whenever he's around me though, I feel so...good, happy, free...loved. But he doesn't love me like that, especially not after..._ Katara remembered what she had said to him and began to lose it. She got up and ran into the surrounding forest with tears running down her face, leaving Sokka and Toph sharing a worried look at each other. Sokka knew her sister and rested a hand on Toph's shoulder, "I think we should leave her alone for a while."

 _Meanwhile,_

Aang sat by the fire Zuko had created that morning as Iroh knelt by a pot, hanging over said fire, brewing tea. Aang was lost in a trance, he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before as he kept thinking about a certain water bender. He missed her, but he knew she could handle herself. His fatigue showed as he leaned against the wall of the cave they slept in and the dark gray circles under his eyes. He was lost in another world as he stared into the fire. It's slow burning and graceful flames reminded him so much of Katara; her water bending moves, her dancing moves, the determined look in her eyes when she wanted something, and...his love for her. _But she doesn't feel that way about me...no matter what Toph told me. She's 14 and I'm just a goofy 12 year old bald kid. She could never love me._ Tears began to run down his cheeks; the separation from her and the thought that she doesn't love him began to take its toll. Aang began to sob. Zuko sat across the fire leaning against the wall of the cave with his right arm resting on his bent right leg. He rolled his eyes, "You've got to be kidding me?" He gave an amused smile and a chuckle, "Why are you crying, oh great avatar."

Aang looked up at him with a sad and desperate look in his eyes, "You wouldn't know."

"Ha, you have no idea what I know." replied Zuko shaking his head.

Aang's breathing became ragged and his voice began to crack, "Please...just stop." Thoughts of Katara began to flood his mind. He cringed and squeezed his head trying to get the pain out of his head.

"Stop what?" Zuko asked sarcastically.

Aang ran out of the cave and towards the stream nearby with a stumble due to his imbalanced emotions. Tears running down his face and pain in his expression. Zuko chuckled.

Iroh was furious, "PRINCE ZUKO!"

Zuko jumped at his Uncle's sudden rage, "What?"

"Why, in the name of the spirits, would you say that to him?"

Zuko remained silent as he didn't know how to respond.

"The young man has been through a lot; he needs someone to help him, not hurt him."

"Then why don't you help him?"

"I have already helped him the best I can right now." Replied Iroh, "Once a lost duckling is taken in by a mama duck, he also needs a friend besides a mother."

Zuko gave Iroh an astronomically confused look.

Iroh sighed, "What I am saying is that he doesn't just need me; he needs you, a friend."

Zuko's eyes widened, "How can I be his friend? He is still my enemy."

"No, Zuko, he is not." Iroh sighed and closed his eyes, "You fail to understand that capturing him will no longer benefit you. The fire nation is evil and corrupt, my nephew. I have known this for a long time. What you have to realize is your destiny is no longer chasing the Avatar. You and I need to help him end this war and bring peace to the world."

Zuko contemplated this; his face laden with deep thought. He thought of all the struggles in his life, his mother being taken away, his evil sister, and his father who has never truly loved him. All the horrible things 'he' had done. Invading the South Pole, ravaging Kyoshi island, hurting innocent children, attacking defenseless people, attacking the North Pole. A tear ran streamed down from his right eye realizing that his uncle was right; he needed to help the Avatar, Aang. He stood up and glanced at his uncle, who gave him a reassuring nod. Zuko then walked out of the cave leaving Iroh and his tea, "Ahh, more tea for me."

Zuko continued to walk through the forest towards the stream where they had first ran into Aang. As he neared the stream the tall pines gave way to luscious cherry blossoms until he heard the faint sound of running water. He stopped about twenty feet from the edge of the stream to examine a distraught airbender. Aang sat with his knees tucked into his chest and his eyes glazed over as he stared at the water. He began to move his right hand back and forth, manipulating the water into soft swirls. Zuko sighed and stepped forward and sat next to the young avatar who didn't return his gaze. A long silence followed until Aang broke it with a disgruntled whisper, "What do you want?"

"I want to apologize for what I said earlier." Replied Zuko solemnly.

Aang took a shuttering breath, "You have no idea what I have been through."

Zuko remained silent.

"First I ran away from the only family I knew. Then I wake up a hundred years later only to find out the world is at war because of my absence." Aang took a deep breath as tears began to run down his face, "Then I find out that I am the last of my people and I have to restore balance to the world before Sozin's comet arrives." He now looked at Zuko with tears running down his eyes. Aang noticed a strange sympathetic look in the firebender's eyes. He continued staring into Zuko's eyes, "And now...the fire nation has taken me from my new family...and the person I love." He turned his attention back to the water, as did Zuko.

Zuko sighed then spoke with a sincere and honest tone, "For years now I have run around trying to regain my father's love and my honor. I had forgotten everything the Fire Nation and my father had done to me. They killed my grandfather, created a monster in Azula, scarred me for defending innocent men, banished me, and worst of all; they took my mother away from me, the only one who truly loved me for who I am." Tears began to stream down his cheeks as he looked at his reflection in the water.

Aang turned back to Zuko, "Zuko, I had no idea. I am so sorry."

"It's ok Aang. I had no idea about you either and I kinda needed to get that off my chest." There was a pause, "Also, I apologize in advance for anything I do; I am still trying to get used to helping you." Zuko stood up and let a hand out for Aang who hesitently accepted with a smile. Zuko pulled Aang up to his feet, "We should be going; we are going to head out for Omashu in about an hour." Aang nodded and headed back towards the cave with hopes that he and Zuko could become friends. When they got to camp, Zuko, Aang and Iroh packed up and left for Omashu.

 _Meanwhile,_

Toph had started to worry about Katara. She had ran into the woods nearly three hours ago. Toph knew Katara was still distraught about Aang being gone and not knowing what had happened. She turned her head in the direction she thought Sokka was in, who was chasing Momo for stealing his fruit, "Sokka, have you seen Katara." He stopped instantly and turned to her,

"No, I haven't seen her since she ran off this morning, why?"

"Because I thought you might be worried about her." Toph replied in a questioning tone of voice.

"I am, but if I know her, which I do. I know we need to give her time and space." Sokka replied.

"Well I think a whole forest is a lot of space and three hours is a lot of time."

"Your point.?"

"I am saying we should probably look for her."

"Do what you want, but don't come crying to me once you get water whipped in the face." Sokka replied with a slight chuckle.

Toph stood up, "I'm going to go find her." She walked towards into the forest as she felt Sokka trip over something; she shook her head.

Toph wandered through the beautiful forest, or she thought it felt and sounded beautiful. She was careful not to trip over any roots. She was also very concerned for Katara. She had never seen anyone break down as much as Katara has in the last couple of days. As Toph continued through the forest, she heard faint giggling. It sounded like Katara. Toph followed the noise until she reached a clearing. Toph couldn't see it of course but it was a small pool of water surrounded by shady trees. Katara was knee deep in the water, laughing and...smiling. She was bending a ball of water in a circle, as she often did with Aang. Katara turned and plastered a smile, "Hey Toph, how are you doing?" Katara asked cheerfully.

Toph quirked and eyebrow and responded hesitantly, "Fine, I guess. Why are you so happy?"

Katara tilted her head in confusion, "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked rhetorically. Katara stopped waterbending. She then tried to hide a small giggle, "Good one, Aang."

Toph's eyes widened. She couldn't hear or feel Aang, as she slightly tapped the ground with her right foot. Even if Aang was stand in the pool, he was still touching earth.

Katara turned to Toph, "Toph, Aang will practice his earthbending with you once we're done here."

Toph shocked at this responded, "Katara, Aang is gone."

Katara looked back at the earthbender, "What are you talking about he is right here" pointing at the opposite end of the pool. She giggled again, "Aang, stop tickling me."

"No, he's not here. You're imagining things."

"Are you blind? He is right here next to me."

"Yes, I am blind, but I can still feel where people are."

"Well maybe you should get your feet checked." Katara replied accusingly.

Toph was now extremely worried. Katara was losing it so she ran back to camp while hearing faint giggled and talking from behind her. Toph needed to get Sokka. When she reached camp, she walked up to Sokka, "Snoozles, I think you sister's losing it."

"What do you mean she's 'losing it.'"

"Follow me." Toph led Sokka through the forest to where Katara was. They were at the edge of the clearing and Katara hadn't noticed them. He was shocked to see Katara so happy, but he was at ease thinking she got over it.

He then looked at Toph, "Now, what do you mean by losing it?"

"Just watch." Toph replied.

Katara was sitting on the shore of the pool in her under-wrappings, with her legs dangling in the water. She was content. She looked to her left and spoke, "You know Aang, sometimes I wish you weren't the Avatar."

 _"Why's that?"_

"Because we can spend more time like this."

 _"Yeah, but I enjoy helping people and being the Avatar."_

"I know but I just wish we had more alone time."

 _"We can always make time."_

"I know, but it's hard to do that as much as I would like to,"

 _"Katara, I will always make time for you. I love you."_

"I love you too, Aang."

At this Sokka turned to Toph with wide eyes. He got up and walked towards Katara, "Katara?"

She jumped, "Ahhh, how much of our conversation did you hear?"

Sokka sighed, "Your half."

She looked at him quizzically, "What do you mean?"

"Katara, Aang isn't hear. He was captured, remember?"

Katara scoffed, "I thing I would remember something like that, and he is right here in front of you."

"No, he's not, Katara. He was taken in the night by firebenders and we haven't found him yet.

Reality crashed down on Katara like a brick. She looked back to her left where Aang was before. He faded away. She looked back at her brother as tears filled her eyes once again. She grabbed Sokka and pulled him down to her level so she could have someone to hold. Katara sobbed into his a whimper escaped her. So many emotions ran through her; regret, sorrow, guilt, and confusion. She missed the airbender so much she began to pretend nothing had ever happened. She was living in a dream and was almost sad when Sokka pulled her out of it. They stayed like that for several minutes until Toph walked over and broke the silence, "We'll find him, Katara."

"But...how?" She replied pulling her swollen and bloodshot eyes from Sokka's chest.

"We are going to head for Omashu since that's where Aang would likely go in this situation. It is only a few days away on Appa."

Katara looked and him and sighed, "Okay."

"Let Toph and I pack up. You need to rest, okay?"

Katara nodded but was too exhausted to get up and walk. Sokka carried her back to camp as she fell asleep in his arms. He thought about what she had said, _"I love you too, Aang."_ he wasn't sure if she meant it romantically or platonically. Or if it was just something that came out because of her unstable emotions, but he can't dwell on that now. He needs to get back to camp so she can rest. When they reach camp he climbed up Appa's tail and laid her down gently in the saddle as to not wake her. After Sokka and Toph packed up camp, they climbed onto Appa. Momo had found comfort snuggling up to Katara. Sokka walked up to Appa's head and took the reins whispering 'Yip! Yip!' and with that they headed for Omashu in hoped of finding their friend.

 _To be continued..._

 **That was fun to right. I don't know how it was for you to read but I feel like it's my best piece of writing. It also gave me a few ideas for future chapters but those are secret so don't ask. As always, please review. And thank you for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4: Return to Omashu Part I

**Summary: This is an alternate version of _Return to Omashu_. It will be in two parts so enjoy. I will try to upload part 2 as fast as I can. I have been very busy lately. I know I upload faster than most fanfic writers and I pride myself on that, athough, after this story and _Mixed Emotions_ my uploads will become less frequent. Anywho on to the story. **

**Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ATLA**

Chapter 4: Return to Omashu Part I

It was a chilly afternoon in the earth kingdom as Sokka guided Appa to the door of the grand palace of Omashu. As he landed Appa, guards ran up to greet the group of young travelers. Sokka jumped off Appa as Toph and Katara followed slowly. After a quick conversation with the guards, the group was escorted into the palace and to the throne room. The guards, along with Sokka, Katara, and Toph, bowed at the sight of King Bumi.

The room was filled with a loud snort as the king rose from his chair, "What have we here? Friends of the Avatar." The King, with his odd sense of style, was wearing a bright yellow gown with orange trim and a blue crown for some reason.

"It's good to see you too, Bumi." Sokka said replied rolling his eyes.

Toph leaned towards Katara and whispered, "Who is this guy?" Although she gained no response from the waterbender.

Sokka continued, oblivious to Toph's whispering, "We need to talk."

At this time, Bumi turned his attention to Katara who looked...off. He noticed how she no longer wore a long braid the used to follow behind her. Instead, her hair flowed free with smaller hair loops; she had recently stopped caring about taking time to form the braid. Bumi also noticed that it appeared that she has lost weight off of her already slender frame. There was a certain emptiness to her deep blue eyes; It was as though she was lost and hopeless. Bumi spoke up after his moment of observation, "Is it bout your sister?"

Sokka turned his gaze to Katara who finally began to pay attention. He turned back to the king, "In a way, yes." He took a deep breath and looked at Katara again with concern; he turned back to the bewildered king, "Aang is gone."

At this, tears began to fill Katara's empty eyes that she could have sworn couldn't cry anymore. The overwhelming feeling of sorrow, dread and regret consumed her. She began to walk out of the throne room as Bumi signaled a guard to escort her to a room, "Ma'am, please follow me to your room."

Katara glared at him then followed the guard out of the room. Once the two left the room, Bumi walked down the steps of the throne and up to Sokka, "What do you mean Aang is gone?"

"About a week ago he was kidnapped during the night."

"Don't you mean 'Avatar-napped'?"

Toph tried to suppress a small chuckle. Then she felt Sokka snap around to look at her so she stopped.

Sokka sighed, "Yes...that's one way of putting it."

"Is this why your sister is..." Bumi was cut short.

"Dirty, tired, hopeless, depressed, sad, skinnier. Yes."

"Why is that?

"She feels fully responsible for what happened."

Toph got fed up with this slow and cryptic back and forth conversation, "Sugar Queen and Twinkletoes got in an argument and Katara yelled at Twinkletoes, hurting his feelings. This caused Aang to sleep at the edge of our camp where he could be taken easily."

Bumi quirked an eyebrow and looked at Sokka, "Is this true?"

Sokka turned the young earthbender with a surprised look on his face. Still looking at her, Sokka responded, "Yes."

"So then why is it that you have come here? Do you want rock candy?"

"No we don't want rock candy and we came here because we figured if he escaped this would be the first place for him to come."

Bumi rubbed his chin and started to pace, "Well, if there is anything Aang is good at, it's escaping."

"WILL YOU STOP PACING!? YOU'RE DRIVING ME CRAZY!" Toph yelled at the King

Bumi stopped and looked into the eyes of the fellow earthbender, who didn't look back, "You're blind aren't you, young one?"

"How'd you figure that out, gramps? Look into my eyes and I didn't look back." Toph replied sarcastically.

"That, and my pacing was driving you crazy. You listen to the earth through your feet, don't you?" Bumi stated.

Toph was puzzled at how this one hundred year old man could figure that out.

Bumi continued, "You are a very special bender, little girl. Your friends are lucky to have you."

"Don't mention it." Toph replied with a cocky grin

"I would love to spar with you."

"YES! The Blind Bandit is back in action."

"After dinner?"

"You're on!" Toph yelled pumping her fists.

Sokka, completely bewildered by what happened between the two earthbenders, suddenly became very excited, "Yes! Rock vs Rock."

"Way to kill the mood Snoozles." Toph replied dryly.

"Anyway, let my gaurds show you to your rooms."

Toph and Sokka followed the guards to their rooms where Sokka fell asleep immediately and Toph decided to be someone else today. She stepped out of her room and walked a short distance to the one next to her and knocked on the door, "Katara?"

 _Meanwhile,_

Aang, Zuko and Iroh were walking down a wide trail through a forest of oak trees. Zuko and Iroh were leading while Aang fell back a few paces and just looked at the ground ahead of him as he walked. Something was off about him that day; he hadn't said a word since they left their camp, which was five hours ago. Iroh and Zuko both noticed this odd behavior; Zuko, still a little uncomfortable with helping the Avatar, thought nothing of it, while Iroh was a little concerned. When his current conversation with Zuko ended, Iroh slowed his pace so Aang would catch up to him. He saw the Avatar's gray eyes filled with sorrow and lonliness. When Aang caught up to him, Iroh asked him a simple question in a cheery tone, "What might be troubling you today, young Aang?"

Without taking his gaze off the ground, Aang replied with a slight crack in his voice from lack of use that day, "Noting is troubling me."

Iroh was still concerned for the young monk's state of being, "Aang, you can tell me anything."

That was when Aang mind shut down as he stopped walking and just stared at the ground slightly ahead of him. Iroh stopped as well. Zuko, noticing the lack of footsteps behind him, stopped and turned his gaze to his uncle and the young airbender, noticing tears filling Aang's eyes. Zuko still thought Aang was a little weak, but who can blame him with what he has been through lately. Iroh, a little shocked by Aang's actions, spoke up again with concern, "My apologies. Did I say something wrong."

"That's what she always says." Aang replied with his voice cracking from the sorrow.

At this point, Iroh was bewildered, "What is said and who says it?"

Aang finally looked up into Iroh's eyes after hours of staring at the ground with a tear rolling down his right cheek, "Katara always says I can tell her everything. And now I have no one to confide in."

"Well, you can always confide in me." Iroh replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now, what is troubling you?"

"Can we start walking first? It's a little awkward just standing in the middle of the road like this." Aang said with a little hesitation.

Iroh nodded and gestured to his nephew to start walking again. They resumed walking with Zuko leading, followed by Aang and Iroh a few paces behind. After about a minute of walking, Iroh turned his attention to the previous subject, "So, what is it that is troubling you?"

"It's Katara." Aang replied sorrowfully.

"Suprise, Suprise." Chirped Zuko sarcastically from the front.

Aang ignored him, "She turns fifteen today and I just wish I could be with her on her special day."

"Well, you are with her."

Aang turned his head to look at Iroh puzzled.

Iroh continued, "You are with her in many ways. She is a waterbender and so are you; therefore, you are connected through Yin and Yang, the push and the pull. You are also with her in her heart; although she may feel sad on this day, she still has you."

Aang looked down and thought for a moment. Then a small smile and a spark in his eyes appeared. He looked at Iroh again, "Thank you."

"It is my honor."

Zuko rolled his eyes, but not in disgust. He was simply amazed at how his uncle could seem to help just about anyone.

Iroh then found himself deep in thought as he looked at Aang with a smile. Who was a little nervous about it all, "Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"Oh...I was smiling." ( **A/N: Haha, reference to episode 1)** Iroh continued his train of thought, this time out loud, "Katara is your waterbending master, correct?"

"Yes. Why?"

"That makes her the youngest waterbending master in history; let alone the quickest to master it." Iroh replied.

"Wow!" Aang said, astonished, as he looked at the sky for some reason.

"And a girl at that." Iroh finished

"What does being a girl have to do with that?!" Aang snapped.

Zuko smirked at the sudden bout of rage coming from the Avatar.

"She is more than just a 'girl!' She is the smartest, bravest, kindest, and strongest person I have ever met!"

Iroh was a little shocked at the outburst and immediately regretted what he had said, "I am sorry. I meant no disrespect."

"You better be." Aang muttered under his breath as he quickened his pace to now lead the group of three.

Iroh looked at Zuko with a pleading look. Zuko just shook his head and chuckled as he continued to walk.

 _Meanwhile,_

"Katara?" Toph said with a knock on the door. No response. "Katara, can I come in?"

There was a long pause where tough just waited, then a voice came frome inside, "Sure."

Toph pushed the door open and stepped inside. She could feel Katara sitting on the ground shaking and staring at the wall opposite the door. She sighed. She felt so bad for the waterbender, for she had lost her best friend and potentially her true love. She knew it was Katara's birthday, but she knew bringing it up would only make matters worse. "Katara, you're shaking. Are you cold?" Asked Toph.

"A little." Replied Katara without turning her gaze from the wall.

Toph walked towards what she thought was the bed and felt around for a blanket. When she found one, she walked to where Katara was sitting and wrapped it around her, "Here."

"Thank you." Katara replied.

"We need to talk."

"I don't want to talk."

"I know you don't want to, but you need to."

"I don't need to do anything."

"Yes you do. You need to wash up, for one; you smell horrible. Second, you need to eat. And third, **you need to talk."**

"And why would I **need** to do any of that?"

"Because you're killing yourself, Katara. You haven't eaten in days and you've lost too much weight. We need to talk."

Katara snapped, 'Fine! Then what should I talk about?!"

"Aang."

Katara fell silent. Although she knew Toph would eventually bring it up, Katara was still a bit surprised, "Why would I want to talk about him?"

"Because he is the reason why you are doing this." Toph sighed, "Listen, I know you love him. And I know that he loves you too."

Katara finally turned to look at Toph, a bit of doubt and surprise in her eyes; although Toph couldn't see it, "And how would you know that?"

"Well, in your case, you're acting like this." Katara looked down at the ground as Toph continued, "And in his, he told me."

"He really loves me." The first smile since her hallucination grew on Katara's face.

"Yep...and I'm sure with the love he has for you, he has found a way to escape his kidnappers and is looking for us...you right now. That's why you have to stay strong for him, so when he sees you, he will see the same Katara he was taken from."

Katara lunged forward and gave Toph a bone-crushing hug as tears rolled down her cheeks. She whispered, "Thank you, Toph. I needed that."

Toph hesitantly patted her on the back, "I know. Now let's head to dinner. You have lot of eating to catch up on."

Katara gave her a disgusted but knowing smiles, then agreed, "Fine."

Toph gave an outstretched arm and helped Katara up. Katara gave her a warm smile, which she couldn't see, and followed her out of the room. They walked down the long corridor towards the dining hall. Many thoughts and emotions were running through the mind of the waterbender. But the highlight of all things that ran through her mind was hope; one of many things that Aang had brought back into her life when she found him. He brought her hope for fun, a better tomorrow, a world without war and...love. That last thought sent shivers down her spine. Toph was right; she was in love with the Avatar, but she couldn't believe he loved her too especially after what she said to him. Before she could continue her thoughts they had reached the dining hall. Long emerald green tapestries hung on the walls. A long table made of earth stretched nearly the entire length of the room. Her brother was already sitting at the table with King Bumi, impatient to start eating. Katara sat down next to her brother and across from Toph.

After they had all settled in, dinner began. Katara, for one, actually did listen to Toph; she was catching up on her eating. Bumi quirked an eyebrow, along with Sokka, at the ferocity of her eating. Both knew, however, that this meant she was feeling better. After she finished, Katara let out a large bech, something she almost never does, though she thought she deserved it. After dinner was finished for all of them, and Toph and Bumi went to spar, Katar made her way to the balcony of the palace. She gazed at the sunset in front of her and smiled. She heard footsteps approach her from behind, and she knew who it was, "Hey Sokka." She greeted without turning around.

"Hey Katara, how are you doing?"

"Good, thank you."

Sokka then walked up next to his sister and looked out at the sunset with her, "You feeling better?"

"Yes."

"I could tell by the way you were eating. It was almost like watching me."

Katara chuckled, "I don't think I feel that good anymore."

"Why?"

"I don't want to look like you when I eat."

Sokka chuckled and looked at her, "I didn't mean it in a bad way. It's good to see that you're feeling better."

"Thank you."

"You wanna go watch Toph and Bumi duel. I have twenty silver pieces on Toph."

"In a little. I just want to...Oh no." Katara gasped.

"What's wrong?" Sokka turned his head back to the horizon where he saw black smoke filling the air, obscuring the once beautiful sunset. "Oh no, I'll get Toph and Bumi." Sokka said while running back inside.

Katara couldn't believe it. Everything was going so well and now everything was going down the drain again. She began to cry. _Why? Why does everything go so wrong? I just want to see him again. Now the Fire Nation is going to tear him away from me for the second time._ She dropped to her knees and sobbed into her hands.

Sokka and Toph both ran back outside to see Katara on her knees crying. They couldn't believe that she had gone back down the deep end. Sokka decided to pull her out of her bout of crying, "Katara, we have to leave." What happened next, Sokka did not expect.

"NO! I WILL NOT LEAVE AS LONG AS AANG IS STILL OUT THERE." Katara snapped as she stood up and turned to glare at Sokka.

"Katara." Sokka pleaded.

"DON'T 'Katara' ME! I. AM. NOT. LEAVING." Katara scolded.

Toph knew she had to knock some sense into her friend, "Katara, if you don't leave they could capture you, or worse."

Katara didn't know how retort that as she opened her mouth and nothing came out. At that moment, the king had arrived, "Katara, I know Aang. He will come here and I will send him after you. Right now I need to let you leave for Ba Sing Se, there I will send Aang."

"But..."

"No 'buts.' Just go."

Sokka placed a reassuring hand on his sister's shoulder. As she looked at him, he gave her a warm smile and nodded. Katara looked back at Bumi as tears filled her eyes, "Promise me that you will send him there." She choked. Bumi nodded.

At that the group turned and ran towards Appa. Once on board, Sokka let out a 'Yip! Yip!' and they were off. Katara broke down again as she looked off the back of Appa's saddle at the massive Fire Nation army approaching Omashu. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

 _To be continued._

 **(A/N: Sorry for the rushed finish, but I liked the way it turned out. I have been very busy lately and I felt the need to update. Please review because, I don't know how it turned out for you guys.)**


	5. Chapter 5: Return to Omashu Part II

Part II:

 **Summary: So sorry for the delay. I have been really busy with a couple jobs I have been working on weekends, as well as family stuff during the week. This was a pretty hard chapter for me to write. Sorry if it doesn't seem very good; I did my best. This is a cut down and altered version of the of** ** _Return to Omashu,_** **with Zuko and Iroh replacing Sokka and Katara. Also, this is my first attempt at a fight scene; sorry if that isn't good either. Anyways, thanks for being patient and please review.**

 _One and a half weeks after the fall of Omashu..._

Iroh awoke to a low rumbling noise that shattered the peace of the early morning. Suddenly, the ground shook with a sheer violence he had never felt before; it lasted for all of about ten seconds. At this point, he was extremely puzzled. Earthquakes lasted longer than ten seconds. Wanting to get to the bottom of this treachery, Iroh immediatley brewed some tea. And left to find where the rumbling was coming from, of course. As he strolled through the surrounding forest with his cup of tea, Iroh noticed the noise and shaking getting stronger.

After about a minute, the dragon of the west reached a large clearing. Suddenly, three large pillars of earth rose from the ground. Startled, Iroh looked to his left to find a young, shirtless, avatar gesturing in a lifting motion. Now that he found the source, Iroh could relax, sit, and enjoy the show. He watched the avatar take a strong, squatted, stance and smash his foot to the ground, sending a large boulder up in front of him. Aang then punched the boulder, sending it hurdling towards the first earth pillar, which subsequently fell to bits. The boy repeated the technique two more times, smashing the remaining pillars. The boy now stood, panting heavily, as sweat ran down his body.

The boy heard the sounds of applause off to his right. Startled, he looked, finding a rather impressed firebender. Aang bowed in thanks to the man, who returned the gesture.

"Very impressive, Aang." Iroh stated proudly.

"Thank you. I have been practicing for when we find the others." Aang chuckled, "I don't know what Toph would do to me when she found out I haven't been practicing."

Iroh chuckled as well, "Well I'm glad your preparing for the future. She must be a bit stubborn and a great teacher."

"You don't know the half of it."

"While we're out here, and you're training, may I teach you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

Iroh strolled over to where Aang was standing, and lifted his hand in front of himself, revealing a small flame, "Firebending. You do have to learn it eventually, so why not start now. You have mastered air and water, and have almost mastered earth by the looks of it."

"I don't know. I made a promise never to firebend again. Not after...what happened."

"May I ask what that was?"

"Last time I tried to fire bend, I wasn't patient and things got out of my control and I burned Katara." Aang cringed at the memory. "She healed herself though. And I promised her I would never firebend again."

"Ah, but you must realize that mastering firebending requires the utmost patience, and being the avatar, you will have to break your promise."

"Here, I know you're nervous, but please humor me and go through the basics."

Aang hesitated, then sighed, "Ok."

A smile spread across Iroh's face, "First, firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles."

Aang spent the next two hours training with Iroh. He caught on rather quickly and was soon able to manipulate and control fire around him. However, Aang soon realized that it was quite the workout. By the end of his training, Aang's stomach, chest, and legs hurt from training. Never the less, the boy was proud; he was able to now blast fire with a single punch. The look of astonishment and pride on his face when he did this gave Iroh a huge smile, "Congratulations, You are a firebender."

Aang looked down at his hands in disbelief, "I can't believe it!" He looked up at his new master with a smile, "Thank you. I never thought I would ever firebend again."

"You are welcome, Aang. But remember, this requires patience and you must use it. Also, you must train every day, at the least you must do hot squats, fire pushups and meditate. "

"Thank you. I understand."

At this moment Zuko finally showed up, a bit irritated, "What are you two doing?!"

Aang replied cheerfully, "Training!" Aang lit a flame in the palm of his right hand.

Zuko looked at his Uncle, furious, "You taught him firebending?!"

"Yes Prince Zuko, I taught him. If he is to find his friends and be the Avatar, he must have the power of the four elements behind him." Iroh replied calmly.

"Why?"

"Because we are his friends."

"I know but..." Zuko was cut off

"But what? Why can't we help him?"

Zuko was speechless. His uncle is right. They are his friends, but it just doesn't feel right. With four eyes gazing at him, he spoke, "Let's just get to Omashu before sunset."

Aang smiled and piped up, "Good idea!"

Before Zuko could make some sort of demeaning comment, Aang had already walked past him, putting his shirt back on, and heading towards camp to pack up. Iroh simply smirked at his nephew, only to receive a grunt of frustration. Once they had reached camp, Zuko noticed Aang was already packed up, obviously excited to see his friends again, who he was certain were there. Aang awaited impatiently for his new friends to pack up. Once packed up, the group trekked out into the cool afternoon towards Omashu. Aang, leading, had a bit too much pep in his step, as Iroh fell behind; he didn't care, however, he was just glad to see the young Avatar happy. Zuko, on the other hand, was a bit nervous. Not about entering an Earth Kingdom city, but for seeing the Avatar's friends. He didn't know how they would react to Aang being friends with him, the man who hunted them down. Zuko gazed at the boy ahead of him. He may not think of the airbender as a friend yet, but the boy's personality was beginning to grow on him. Besides being sad early on, the boy confronted every situation with a smile, he had energy, he cared, and he didn't judge others right away, he was a remarkable boy. Zuko finally realized that he had been forgiven, so why can't he let go; he made a mental note to talk to the boy before they met up with his friends. Zuko was ripped from his reverie by a joyous voice.

"We're almost there!"

An exhausted Iroh heaved, "How much further?"

Aang continued to look at his friends as he neared the top of a ridge, "Well, welcome to Oma..." He turned to see smoke filling the air above the city and Fire Nation banners draped everywhere, "...shu." Aang gasped in shock. "No." He sighed. He felt an unfamiliar hand come to rest on his shoulder. He looked up to see a man with a scar on his left eye; he didn't expect this.

When the airbender turned to look at him, Zuko noticed the desperation and confusion in his face. He couldn't help but feel sympathy for the boy, having something constantly torn away, "Aang, they aren't here." He said in a surprisingly soft tone. "We need to move on and find them somewhere else."

Aang looked back at the city with a now determined look, "No. I still have one friend left in the city."

"Who?" Zuko asked.

"Bumi."

Aang had now led Iroh and Zuko down to a secret passage way into the city, which so happened to be the sewer. The sun had now begun to set, causing the city to cast an ominous shadow. Zuko and Iroh questioned the method, but Aang no longer cared; he was tired of losing his friends and the one's he loved, and he would do anything to see them again. As they trudged through the muck, Aang used his airbending to push the sludge around with Iroh close behind as to not get splashed. Zuko, on the other hand, was not so lucky. He got the full brunt of the sewage as he gasped for air. Before they reached the man hole, Zuko dawned a cloak with a large hood and Aang dawned a hat, so no one could recognize them. Once they reached the surface, they snuck past some guards and hid in a abandoned cabbage cart.

"We need to stay out of sight." Zuko warned. "The Fire Nation often sets curfews in conquered cities."

"What? Hotmen can't stay up too late." Iroh and Zuko gave Aang a glare. "Sorry." Aang quickly amended. "We need to get to the palace, that's where the prisons are. But, they would put him where he couldn't earthbend, but I don't know where that would be."

"Ok. Let's just head for the palace for now, but we need to be quiet." Zuko agreed.

"Wait." Aang whispered, "Do you want to walk around with that pentapus on your hand."

"What?" Zuko looked at his hand, "Eww!" Zuko ripped the pentapus off, leaving dozens of red dots behind. Iroh chuckled then quickly ducked behind the cart, while Aang and Zuko were unaware of the approaching guard.

"What are you two doing out past curfew!?" The guard asked.

"Uh...my brother Kuzon here is sick with pentapox, as you can see by his hand, and he is a bit delusional." Aang smiled sheepishly.

"Pentapox?"

"Yeah, it's deadly if you don't treat it properly, and it's highly contagious." Aang nudged Zuko, giving him a sly smile. The guards eyes grew wide.

Zuko realized what Aang wanted him to do. He reached his arms ahead and walked towards the guard, moaning and groaning.

The guard shrieked, "Ahhh! Get away from me!" And he ran off.

Zuko and Aang looked at each other and broke out laughing at their prank. Iroh just shook his head at pure genius, an immaturity at the idea.

"That was good." Zuko exclaimed, still slightly chuckling.

"Yeah. But we better get moving." Aang replied. Zuko nodded.

As the three made their way towards the palace, Iroh noticed some tea leaves in a market stall, which he sneakily took while placing a silver piece on the counter. When they started making their way up the multi-leveled city when they noticed a group of people walking below. They quickly crouched down to remain hidden until a familiar voice struck Zuko's ears.

A dry, monotone voice, barely audible, came from below, "There really is no fathoming the depths of my hatred for this place."

"Mai?" Whispered Zuko.

"Who?" Aang asked.

"His girlfriend." Iroh replied to Aang with a smirk.

A slight grumble escaped the prince's mouth, but he couldn't help but question, _What is she doing here?_ But before he could think further, Zuko heard a rumbling noise come from above. His eyes grew wide as he noticed a large boulder sliding down one of the many chutes that moves through the city. The boulder was going to hit Mai and her family. He got up and ran as fast as he could towards the slide ahead. Zuko jumped and kicked a large blast of fire, timing it just right, causing the boulder to be destroyed and knocked out of the way. However, no one below noticed the firebending.

A guard shouted, "The resistance. After them!"

Aang quickly caught up and grabbed Zuko with Iroh close behind. Before they knew it, the three of them were underground, surrounded by Omashu soldiers. Aang gave them a cheesy smile, "Hi there."

"Hello, Avatar."

"Where are we?" Asked Zuko.

"In the secret tunnels under the city. Bumi told me about them when we were kids." Aang paused. "Where is he, by the way?"

"He is in captivity, where, we don't know." The commander sighed, "When the Fire Nation arrived, he just gave up without a fight."

"What! Why?" Aang exclaimed.

"We don't know."

"I have to find him."

"First, however, we need to get the civilians out of the city. But how?"

"You need to as well. Instead of fighting losing battle, escape and fight another day. As for the how, we pretend we are all sick, so the guards will panic and let us go." Exclaimed Iroh.

"What would that be?"

Aang lifted up a pentapus in front of the commander, "Pentapox." Aang replied with a grin. He then placed the pentapus on his face and pealed it off, revealing dozens of red dots. He, along with all of the soldiers and civilians, did this to all of the exposed skin of their bodies. Satisfied with their work, Aang explained to them how to act; He told them to walk as though they were dead, whilst moaning. Once everyone was brought up to the surface, everybody began their sickly march towards the main gate, panicking the guards as the sun continued to set behind them.

"Ahh it's Pentapox! It must have spread!" The guard from the night before exclaimed.

"What?" Asked the gate-keeper.

"Pentapox: It is highly contagious and deadly. Open the gate if you value your life!" The guard screamed in a panic. The gate-keeper replied by opening the gate, allowing a steady stream of 'infected' people out of the city.

Once out of the city, the citizens and soldiers set up camp underneath a nearby mountain. As night fell and families huddled around fires, Aang, Zuko and Iroh began to form a plan of how to find Bumi.

Aang spoke, "We re-enter the city through the sewage pipes and..." He was interupted by the leader of the resistence.

"Avatar Aang, we have bad news."

"Did we leave someone behind?"

"Uh no. We have an extra." The commander revealed a baby boy. "And we received this." The commander gave Aang a letter.

Aang read the letter aloud, "We know you, the resistance, have had the audacity to kidnap my newly born son. I will release your precious King Bumi to you if you return my Tom Tom. Meet my representatives at the base of the Ozai statue tomorrow at noon."

"Sounds like we don't need to sneak in again." Zuko chuckled.

After a restful night's sleep and after the civilians and resistance left for Ba Sing Se, Aang, Zuko and Iroh walked back into the city and to the base of the Ozai statue. Iroh could faintly believe his brother would do this, then again, Ozai has always been egotistical. They waited with the baby in Aang's arms as they heard the lift on the opposite side of the platform. They also heard a snorting laughter from above as Bumi was lowered in a metal coffin. Aang turned his attention to the opposite side of the earthen platform, where he saw three girls standing and now walking towards them.

"Don't bother, Zuzu, I know it's you. And Uncle, what a pleasant surprise." Azula mocked. "And who might your little friend be?" She now glared at Aang.

"I'm Kuzon." Aang stated rather plainly, receiving curious looks from Zuko and Iroh.

"That was rhetorical. And I know who you are, Avatar." She looked to Mai. "Mai, take care of your boyfriend for me. The Avatar's mine." A look of shock was instantly spread across the three's faces at Azula's knowledge of Aang being the Avatar.

Mai gave a simple reply, "Gladly." And instantly launched four throwing knives directly at Zuko, who quickly dodged them. Azula quickly punched a stream of blue fire directly at Aang, who whirled his staff and took a step back to dissipate the flames. Which left Ty Lee to fight Iroh, an extremely agile gymnast against a fat old man. Ty Lee somersaulted forward towards her opponent, who shot multiple fire bolts as she approach; her agility was great enough to evade the counter-attack. Meanwhile, Aang has been avoiding all of Azula's attacks by using his airbending to perform massive flips and bounds, causing Azula to get extremely frustrated.

"Very good, Avatar, but let's see if you can dodge this." She began to move her fingers around her body, forming lightning. Aang's eyes widened in shock as she finished her movements aiming the lightning at him. He screamed in terror, but felt...nothing. Aang opened his eyes to find Iroh receiving the lightning in one hand, and doing a series of movements that looked like waterbeding, sending the lightning out his left hand into the sky. At this moment Ty Lee came out of nowhere and attempted to chi-block Iroh, but saw no noticable results.

"Ha, you can't chi-block me there. There's no muscle." Iroh chuckled.

Azula had re-engaged Aang, forcing him to back up into Zuko. The two were now back-to-back, facing their respective foes. Suddenly, the two had a instant connection. They knew what to do. Zuko used a spin kick to create a circle of fire while Aang jumped just above. When Zuko had finished his move he jumped into the air, Aang landed and did the same move only, he used his airbending to fuel the flames into a massive wall, knocking Ty Lee and Mai off the raised, earthen platform. Azula dissipated the flames with her firebending and saw the Avatar jump into the air and latch on to the earth king's metal coffin. Aang used his firebending to melt the chain, causing the coffin to fall into one of the city's many slides.

Aang began to ride on top of the coffin, "We're gonna get you out of here, Bumi."

"Aang wait, I need to tell you something."

"What?"

Bumi's thoughts were interrupted, "Aang, behind you." Aang turned to see the fire nation princess riding down the slide in a earth sled, blasting blue fire at him. He quickly deflected it using his limited firebending skills. At that moment, Bumi lifted his chin, causing an earth pillar to rise up in the slide. Azula's sled smashed into the pillar, destroying her sled and bringing her pursuit to an end.

Once at the bottom, Aang jumped off of the coffin, leaving Bumi to earthbend himself upright. Aang looked at him quizzically as Bumi snorted in laughter.

"That was fun."

"Bumi, how can you still earthbend in that?"

"They don't call me the greatest earthbener for no reason."

"I have a friend who may disagree with you." Aang murmered under his breath. Bumi looked confused, but he knew who he was talking about, so Aang changed the subject, "Nevermind, we need to get you out of here."

"Aang, I can't leave. This is my city and it needs me. When the time is right, I will free it."

"But what about Katara, Sokka and Toph? I need you to help me find them."

"They have already been here..." Bumi was quickly cut off.

"Then why'd you let them leave?!" Aang yelled in frustration.

"Aang." Bumi sighed, "They were here when the Fire Nation attacked. I sent them to Ba Sing Se so they would be safe. There, you will find them."

Aang still looked a bit sad, but he understood. He bowed in respect for his friend, "Thank you, Bumi."

"Now go get your friends." And with that, Bumi earthbended himself back up the slide, laughing and snorting to the top. Aang couldn't help but smile when he saw Zuko and Iroh run up to him.

"We need to get out of here." Zuko heaved.

The three exited the city through the sewer system. Once a safe distance from the city, they set up camp. Night was falling. Aang lit a fire while Iroh began to brew some tea. Zuko sat cross-legged on the ground contemplating something.

"Hey, Aang." Zuko asked.

"Yes?"

"What do you want to call that move we did back in Omashu?"

"Oh...I don't know, especially since we kind of did it out of instict."

"Ok. I was just trying to think of one." Zuko paused, "Where will we go now?"

Aang looked out into the surrounding forest, "Ba Sing Se."

 _To be continued..._

 **A/N: Thanks for reading. Again, sorry if this isn't that great.** **This was my first time doing a fight scene. Also, it was really hard to re-write an existing episode and cut it down so I wouldn't go too long. Anywho, please review it is a great help.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Swamp

**Summary: This chapter is devoted entirely to Katara, Sokka and Toph. This is a rewritten version of "The Swamp." It will likely be long like the last chapter. Also, Toph experiences something that you will understand if you watched LoK and a hint of Tokka. As a side note, I will likely start taking longer to update because the later chapters are harder to write, but I do have a plan for the future chapters it's just a matter of writing it. If you would like to make suggestions for things in future chapters, it would be great. I may try to put them in or I may alter them to fit my plan. Also, next chapter will go back to the format of switching between the two groups. Phew, that was a long summary. Anyways, thank you for all the support and please review.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Chapter 6: The Swamp:

It was a very cool morning in the Earth Kingdom when Sokka finally woke up. As his eyes fluttered open, he noticed a certain blind earthbender standing over him, arms crossed and a annoyed expression written on her face. He sat up and looked at her confused, "What?" He asked.

"It's almost eleven and you said we were supposed to leave camp at ten."

"Then why didn't you wake me?"

"Two reasons. One, I can't find Katara. And two, I wanted to yell at you." Toph responded matter-of-factly.

"Where's Katara?"

"I don't know; I just told you that didn't I?" She paused. "And I think she can handle herself, being a master waterbender and all. Also, she isn't all depressed any more. at least she isn't letting it out."

"I'm sure she got up early to waterbend and lost track of time."

"Ok...but I didn't sense her at the lake."

"Did you go to the lake?"

"No! That's a long walk!"

"Spirits you are as lazy as me sometimes...anyway she was probably swimming and that's why you couldn't feel her."

"That makes sense." She punched Sokka's shoulder. "That's for calling me lazy."

"Whatever, let's go find Katara." He turned to look at Appa, "Appa, make sure Momo behaves while we're gone. Appa replied with a low growl as Toph and Sokka walked off into the surrounding forest towards the lake. They walked in silence for about five minutes until Toph broke the rather awkward silence.

"Do you think Twinkletoes is ok?"

This question took Sokka off guard, "W-What do you mean?" He stuttered over his words .

"Like...do you think he is safe?"

"I-I don't know, but all we can do is trust what Bumi said and head for Ba Sing Se."

"Ok...I just don't know what we could do if he was captured and we couldn't find him."

"He's strong. All we can do is trust him to do his part and get to Ba Sing Se." As he finished he looked up to see Katara swimming in the lake while doing some waterbending. Sokka felt a smirk come across his face, "See, I told you she was swimming."

"No, I can't see Snoozles!" Toph snapped.

Katara heard this small outburst and turned to see her brother and Toph arguing yet again. Katara shook her head and swam to a point to where she was in waist deep water; she had gotten herself back up to her normal weight after visiting Omashu and also got a more toned belly thanks to her daily waterbending routines. "I see you two are getting along nicely." She stated, interrupting the bickering.

Sokka just glared at her for a moment before remembering why they came to the lake in the first place, "We need to get going soon so get dressed and come back to camp Sis." He turned to start walking back to camp, leaving the two girls behind.

Katara felt a sly grin come across her face, "Hey Sokka!" She yelled.

"What?!" He moaned and turned around, only to be met by a massive stream of water that knocked him back and soaked through his close. Soon, once the water had drained from his ears, he heard the cackling from his sister and Toph as they clutched their stomachs in a bout of uncontrollable laughter. "Very funny." He mumbled under his breath.

"Oh come on Snoozles, you know you needed a shower anyway." Toph snickered.

"Just get dressed and let's leave." He grumbled to Katara and walked away.

Katara waded out of the water and dried herself off with her waterbending. Once dressed, her and Toph made their way back to camp and made small talk, recounting what just happened and what the plan was for when they landed next. Surprisingly, when they reached camp, Sokka had everything packed up and ready to go. Once on board, Sokka took the reins and stated the signature phrase, leading Appa to take flight. Once in the air, the group began to fly over a massive swamp, giving them all an eerie feeling. Sokka, being all so wise and curious, decided to get a closer look, which did not go over well with Katara.

"Sokka!" He snapped his head around and looked up at his sister. "Go higher, you're starting to freak me out!"

"Why, are you scared of a stupid swamp?" He replied teasingly. Just then a massive tornado appeared behind them and was following them. Sokka snapped the reins, ordering Appa to go faster. "Where'd this the come from?"

Toph snapped a reply, "Maybe because you called the swamp stupid." The tornado started to get closer and closer. Toph clung to Katara as she held on tight to the saddle. Sokka did his best to control Appa until Momo flew down his shirt. At that moment, the tornado swallowed them and flung them into the swamp, causing Appa to get tangled in the vines. Once he regained his composure, Sokka checked on the girls, "You two alright?"

"No thanks to you." Katara snapped back.

"What? Like calling a swamp stupid is going to do something like that."

"Well tornadoes don't exactly appear out of nowhere and then disappear."

"I don't care, let's just untangle Appa and get out of here." Exclaimed Toph. She began to climb out of the Saddle not realizing Appa was about ten feet above the water below.

"Toph wait!" Yelled Katara, but it was too late, Toph fell face first into the swamp water below. Toph got up and spat the water from her mouth. Once she had finished she was greeted by laughter from her friends, much to her annoyance.

"Oh shut up you two!" She shot. After a second though she heard ringing in her ears and hear feet could no longer see even though she was standing on earth under the water. She began to panic and covered her ears as the ringing intensified. It felt like a million people were stomping around right next to her then she let it out, she screamed, "AHHHHH! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!"

Katara, sensing the fear and strain in her friend's voice, climbed down to the water and brought her into a hag, "Toph calm down. What's wrong?"

At her soothing words, Toph began to calm down, realizing that in doing so the noises and the searing pain in her head were gone. "It was like I was standing in a crowd of a million people, as though I could feel all of them walking. It was also like they were screaming at me." She looked up into what she thought were Katara's eyes.

"Are you ok now?" Asked Sokka, rather concerned.

"Yes, but I still can feel anything with my feet though." She replied. By this time, Appa had wriggled himself out of the vines and down to the water. The canopy, however, was too dense to take off, as Sokka and Katara noticed.

"Ok...we need to get moving." Sokka paused and looked to Toph, outstretching his left hand, "Toph, take my hand."

"Why?" Toph asked, not wanting to be a helpless little girl again.

"Because you can't see so please just take it."

She sighed, "Fine."

Toph took his hand reluctantly, with a slight blush that only Katara noticed. The three began to trudge through the swamp with Appa and Momo in tow. It was extremely hard to see where they were going, especially with the think vines. Sokka struggled to clear a path for himself, let alone a flying bison. Somehow, after some time of traveling, Appa and Momo disappeared due to Appa's fear of confined spaces.

Katara was the first to notice, "Um...where's Appa?"

Sokka turned around to see no giant flying beast following them, "He probably didn't like the tight spaces. Ahhhhh." He grunted. "We probably should have followed him since he is the only one who can get us out of here."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. We should find a clearing that way Appa can see us once he gets out of here." Katara suggested.

They continued through the swamp with Sokka leading, still holding Toph's hand. The haze over the swamp began to thicken, causing the three to get disoriented. Eventually, Sokka came to a place where he noticed cut vines, a place where they had been before. "I think we're lost." Exclaimed Sokka.

"You think!" Toph snapped.

"Wait?" Sokka stated. He saw something off in the distance, something white. It was familiar, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. He started to follow it deeper into the swamp, slipping his hand out of Toph's and leaving Toph and Katara behind

"Sokka, where are going?" Katara asked, concerned but to no avail. Sokka didn't hear her and continued on.

Sokka continued through the swamp, following the ghostly figure. Long flowing bands of white trailed behind it and through the vines. As he followed the figure through the sheet of vines, Sokka's heart fell into a pit. What he saw was someone he had failed in front of him, hovering above a pond, was once the one he loved.

"Yue?" He gasped, holding his head and closing his eyes. "This is just a trick of the light, swamp gas." He turned away from her, trying to make the vision go away, "I'm going crazy." He turned back around to see the ghostly figure still there. He approached her, looking into her eyes.

"You didn't protect me." The voice echoed and stung his very heart. He rubbed his eyes and she was gone. Sighing, he turned around to leave and gasped in shock, almost causing him to fall over backwards. Yue was there again. And then she was gone again.

 _Meanwhie,_

Toph was panicking as Sokka had let go of her hand and she couldn't feel anything. "Why did he leave." He voice shook as she felt around to find Katara. Eventually, Katara grabbed her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"It'll be fine. I'm here. I won't leave." As she said that, she saw a male figure in the distance, thinking it was Sokka, she followed. "Wait here, I think I see Sokka." And she left Toph behind. Alone. She continued through the swamp after the figure, which now began to run. Katara began to chase after the figure, "Sokka! Is that you?" The figure did not answer and continued to run and...laughed. The laugh, she could tell was not Sokka's; it was someone elses. As she chased after the figure, she noticed that it was a boy. This boy stopped and looked her in the eyes and smiled. She stopped dead in her tracks, noticing the defining blue arrow on his head, the stormy gray eyes, the heartwarming and genuine smile. It was her best friend. She gasped, "Aang?" He giggled and turned around and ran through a wall of vines. Katara chased after him, coming to a clearing where he stood facing away from her. She ran to him, tears of happiness flowing from her eyes. She went to hug him, still at a sprint, but felt nothing. She flew through where Aang was and through vines and knocked into Sokka, who had reunited with Toph and pulled her to a clearing. Sokka fell on top of Toph in a rather awkward position. Katara fell into the water in tears. Tears of sadness. Katara sat up and put her face into her palms balling while Toph and Sokka sorted themselves out.

Toph blushed at who was on top of her, "Uh...Sokka." She said rather nervously.

Sokka looked down to see Toph's face just a few inches from his. He got up and blushed, "Uh...sorry." He stood up and saw Katara balling. He walked over and knelt down next to his sister, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ok? You ran into me really hard." She looked up into his eyes with tears still flowing. He didn't see tears of pain, rather, tears of sadness. He pulled her into a hug, knowing she probably had a vision "What did you see?" He whispered. She took in a shaky breath and wiped her eyes with the ack of her hand.

"I saw...I saw Aang." She muttered. "But it wasn't him just...just a vision."

"I had a vision too." Katara looked at him in surprise. "I...saw Yue."

Katara gasped in surprise, "What?!"

"Who's Yue?" Asked Toph

Suddenly voice came from behind him, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Katara and Sokka stood up and turned to meet the voice and Toph just looked in the general direction. They saw an older, heavy-set man who wore nothing other than leaves around his waist and covering lower. Katara was repulsed at first and then relaxed, seeing as the man was no threat.

"Who are you?" Asked Sokka, looking rather curiously at the man in front of him.

"Name's Huu. I live here in the swamp with my fellow friends." He stated rather humbly. "Now who are you and how did you get here?" He asked with an odd accent.

Katara replied, feeling welcomed by the man, "My name is Katara, I am a waterbender from the South pole. This is my brother, Sokka, and my friend Toph; she is an earthender. We were fying over in a Sky Bison when a tornado knocked us down."

Huu gave a slightly confused look, "This creature you flew on. does it have six legs and a flat tail."

Sokka was confused at his knowledge of Appa, "Have you seen him?"

He chuckled, "Ha, seen him. We were gonna eat 'em for dinner but noticed he belonged to someone."

"I guess we'll take that as a yes." Toph stated dryly

"Come with me. I will take you to the Banyon-grove. There we will be able to find my friends and yours." He led them into another clearing where a massive tree towered above the surrounding area. Toph still clung to Sokka as they reached the highest point of the roots. Huu spoke up, "The swamp is one big tree, where everything is connected, much like the rest of the world. From here you can sense everything that is going on, from the flock of birds down there..." He pointed a back down into the Swamp where suddenly a flock of birds flew out of the canopy. "...To people across the world, if you have a strong enough connection to the world and your spiritual self."

"That's it!" Exclaimed Toph, enthusiastically. "That's why I thought I was going crazy down there. Through the tree I could feel everything with my feet, it was just too much at once and I wasn't expecting it."

"But if you concentrate enough-" Katara was cut off.

"-You can search for individual things." Huu finished the statement. "That is how us swamp folk find each other."

Katara's eyes widened in realization, "Toph, see if you can sense Aang."

"I don't think I can. I'm new at this 'feel everything through a tree' stuff. Also, there is a reason I call him Twinkletoes. I can hardly feel his footsteps on most days."

Katara looked down in sadness. She should have known she was hoping for too much, but it was her only chance at reassurance that Aang was alright. Sokka put a hand on Katara's shoulder and looked to Huu, "Can you take us back to Appa? We really need to get moving."

"Sure thing." Huu replied and began to lead everyone back to his camp. Toph, with her newfound abilities, was able to walk on her own without any trouble once she figured out how to control it. Once they reached the camp, Huu introduced Katara, Sokka and Toph to everyone. They saw Appa happily playing with an alligator. Once given some supplied for their journey, Katara, Sokka and Toph climbed aboard Appa and prepared to leave.

Sokka took the reins, "Thanks, Huu, for all the help."

"No problem, Sokka." Huu waved goodbye as he watched the massive beast take flight.

Once in the air, Toph spoke up, "I'm glad to get out of there. That place was weird." Katara, from her position at the back of the saddle, flinched slightly at her comment, remembering her vision of Aang. _Did my vision mean he is ok? Why was it him in the vision? Why did the vision have to be torn away from me like that?_ A solitary tear ran down her face at her thoughts. _Maybe he is ok_. _He is strong. And he was happy, he has to be ok._ A small smile crossed her face as she slowly drifted off to dreams of her and her best friend.

 **A/N: Sorry for the rushed ending. I didn't want to go into too much detail about the swampbenders and their camp. I also excluded the fight for length reasons and I wanted this to be an episode of discovery rather than fighting. As always thanks for reading and please review; I love your guys' support it inspires me to write more.**


	7. Chapter 7: Two Way Chase

**Summary: This is a long one. It also took me longer to right than any past chapters. I feel good about this one. As always, I love you reviews, please do so, and thanks for reading.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar. If I did, the original show would still be going.**

Chapter 7: Two Way Chase

Zuko stood in his fighting stance directly across from his opponent, about fifty feet apart. Both wearing just their pants, preparing for the heat of battle. Taking deep breaths, he felt the fire burn within him as his opponent did the same. After a brief stare down, the fight began.

"Fight!" declared Iroh

Zuko sent a fire blast directly at the boy who quickly dissipated the blast and sent a blast of his own back. The blast was dissipated by Zuko as he advance towards Aang, who started advancing as well. Zuko swiped his right arm in a semicircular motion, creating a wall of flame ahead towards the Avatar. Aang reset his stance, both feet pointing towards Zuko, and pushed the flames around himself. The distance between the two fighters now being fifteen feet. Zuko now began to send a fury of blast and kicks towards Aang who began to skillfully duck and avoid the attacks. Similarly to Admiral Zhao, Zuko was lacking patience and finesse, especially after getting frustrated with his failed attacks. Aang was now making an idiot out of Zuko by nearly touching him as he spun around Zuko, easily one step ahead of the attacks. Aang propelled himself about fifteen feet away from Zuko with fire from his fists, turning to his opponent.

"You having fun yet?" Aang questions while giving a cocky grin, throwing his arms out to his sides in a questioning motion.

Zuko was now panting heavily and grunted in frustration. Sweat trickled down his face and chest as his chest heaved up and down. "Ahhh!" He punched a massive fireball in Aang's direction. Aang easily avoided it by ducking below the attack, using his hands to support himself low to the ground, Aang kicked in a circle, sending flames out around him at about ankle height. Too tired to react, Zuko was knocked down by the attack, dazed. As he opened his eyes, Zuko saw a smiling airbender offering a hand, which he gratefully took. Zuko noticed how strong Aang had gotten, most likely from the combination of earth and firebending training. He had more defined muscles in his arms and chest; he also started to develop toned abs as well. Zuko had never seen a now thirteen year old boy develop muscles this quick. But Aang was no ordinary boy, he was diligent and dedicated, which Zuko found inspiring.

After pulling away from his thoughts, Zuko returned the smile and turned to see his uncle approaching.

"Well done, Aang. You demonstrated excellent patience and skill." He turned his eyes to Zuko, "And Zuko, you lack the patience aspect. Learn from Aang's technique of testing your opponents abilities mentally and physically, and use that information to form an attack."

"Yes, Uncle, I understand."

Firebending is much like the other bending arts." He looked between the both of them. "You must feel the energy flow through you, much like waterbending. You must have a solid base in your stance, much like earthbending. And as you both have found out today, and as Aang demonstrated, you must have the patience and grace of an airbender." He smiled at Aang.

Aang smiled and bowed, "Thank you, Master Iroh."

"Now, I will teach you a technique I invented after studying waterbenders." He began to set his stance. "Now that Azula will be hunting us, you both will need to know how to redirect lightning."

Both of the students eyes widened in shock as they glanced at each other and back to Iroh. "How?" They both questioned in unison.

Iroh took his stance and demonstrated the technique. His fingertips flowing down his chi path of one arm, into his core and out the other side. He repeated the motion in the other direction. "Much like waterbending, you must control the flow of energy, but do not fight it. If you flow the energy through your chest and past your heart, you will likely die." He paused to look for some understanding in the faces of his students. Once he saw it there, he continued the motions of the technique. "Follow my lead and feel you energy flow." Zuko and Aang began to practice the motions. "You've got to feel the flow." Exclaimed Iroh, moving his arms in the form of a wave.

The three practiced these movements for nearly an hour until Iroh was certain they had the technique down. Once they finished, they sat down for some calming Jasmine tea as the sun began to set. The sat down in lotus position around the fire. It was quiet until Zuko raised a question.

"Why can't you teach us how to generate lighting?"

"Yeah, why?" Aang agreed.

Iroh sighed and shook his head. "You two are not ready, for reasons I will not delve into. I can see that these...limitations...with go soon enough." He took a sip. "Now Aang, when did you receive your arrows?" He quickly changed the subject.

"When I turned twelve. I am the youngest ever to receive them."

"Wow! So you haven't had them long I take it? Or a hundred years depending on how you look at it." Iroh chuckled

"A year." Aang responded dryly.

"Wait, when was your birthday?"

"Four days ago." Aang sighed. He knew what was coming.

"Why didn't you say anything? We would have celebrated." Asked Iroh, looking to Zuko, who smiled and nodded.

"Air Nomads don't celebrate birthdays and I don't like talking about getting my arrows." He sighed, looking down. He remembered when he got his arrows and found out his status as the Avatar, his friends avoided him and treated him differently. "I'm going to go to bed now." He stood up and walked a little ways away and formed an earth tent to sleep in. Once inside, he laid down to fall asleep, except he couldn't. He was thinking about his thirteenth birthday. In truth, he did want to celebrate it. Turning thirteen was a major milestone in his life, but he wanted to celebrate it with not just Zuko and Iroh, but Sokka, Toph and especially Katara. _Katara..._ He missed her, but he had no time to be upset. He had to find them. Eventually, the thoughts of his friends lulled him into a blissful sleep.

 _Meanwhile,_

"Why does Appa keep shedding?!" Exclaimed Sokka as he climbed his tail to pack their supplies for the travel ahead.

"I don't know. Maybe because it's Spring." Katara replied, teasingly.

"Well, tell him not to stop. It feels SO soft." Toph stated. She was sitting against a rock with her hands tucked behind her head, sitting on the fur, relaxing.

"It does make a great wig." Sokka said cheerfully. He now had an uneven matt of hair on his head.

"I think it's gross. It just gets everywhere." Katara just shook her head at the two of them. She has nearly had it with her fellow travelers as she climbed atop Appa. "You ready to go Toph?"

"Yeah yeah, just relax Sweetness." Toph stood up and began to walk towards Appa. She paused a moment before running to Appa and taking Katara's hand. "We need to go! Now!"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I don't know, but it sounds like a avalanche, but also not an avalanche."

"Your magical powers of perception are frightening."

"Let's just get out of here."

"Yip. Yip." Appa took flight after Sokka's orders. As they flew over the surrounding forest, they noticed a cloud of billowing, black smoke moving in their direction.

"What is that thing?" Katara asked no one in particular, not expecting an answer.

They continued to fly on for the rest of the day until they reached a large clearing along a river. The full moon was just beginning to rise. A large path led to the clearing from the direction they came from and opened up wider until it reached the shoreline. Once one the ground, Toph made a staircase of earth so Katara and Sokka could get off more easily. They quickly unloaded their supplies and set up camp. Katara started a fire and began cooking while Sokka went to the river to fish. Once Sokka was out of earshot, Toph bent a small chair of earth near the fire and spoke to Katara, who was now stirring some sort of soup.

"How are you fairing, Katara?"

"What? No 'Sugarqueen' or 'Sweetness.'" Katara responded sarcastically.

"Not when I'm going to talk to you about this particular subject." She responded with a seriousness and care that Katara had not seen from the blind earthbender.

Katara was bewildered. _What subject is she talking about?_ Toph, however, could feel the tenseness in the air after a few moments. "Aang."

Katara's eyes went wide and her shoulders slumped in defeat. She tried not to think about Aang too much because of how much she misses him and...loves him. _I am in love with Aang._ At this thought, her heart sped up and she stood straight up again. She missed his quirky personality and calm demeanor. She missed his deep gray eyes and cheesy grin. She missed how much he cared for everyone around him, how much he sacrificed for...her. _He loves me too!_ Now a deep blush spread across her cheeks and her heart rate increased more, if that was possible.

"Calm your stupid heart down!" Toph commanded firmly. "I guess I don't need to ask now, but I will anyways." She paused. "How are you doing with Aang gone?"

Katara sighed, slumping her shoulders, "I miss him a lot...painfully a lot, but I have to be strong so we can find him." She wanted to cry but she couldn't, not now.

"That's all I wanted to hear." Toph stated then looked extremely confused. "What the?"

"What?"

"SOKKA! Get over here now!" Toph yelled. Sokka quickly came up to the two girls.

"Toph, what is going on?!" Katara asked, slightly exasperated at Toph's evasiveness.

"That thing is back. But it's close and I don't know how I haven't felt it until now."

"We need to leave." Katara began to move to pick up camp.

Toph grabbed Katara's hand, stopping her, "No time. We have to stand and fight." Katara nodded in reply.

They waited a few moments until a giant metal 'thing.' Katara formed water around her arms while Toph took an earthbending stance and Sokka readied his boomerang. Three teenage girls stepped out of the 'thing' and stood calmly across from them.

The girl dressed in fire nation red rolled her eyes, "What have we here? A blind girl with her two watertribe peasants."

"What do you want?"

"Simple. You hand over the Avatar and I don't kill you."

"He's not here. We got separated three weeks ago." Katara replied, not being able to avoid a slight crack in her voice, though she didn't know where it came from, it just happened.

Azula noticed Katara's cracking voice, "Ah yes. I remember now. I thought that he would be with his bison, but I saw him back in Omashu without it; silly me. Too bad you weren't there to say hello." She turned and began to walk back to their vehicle, looking over her shoulder and waving her hand dismissively, "I will be sure to say 'hi' for you before I torture him." The next thing she new, she was whipped on the back of her head. She turned around with an angry glare with blue flames in her palms. "So, the little peasant wants to play."

Katara was growing extremely angry; her fists clenched, her muscles tightened and her eyebrows furrowed. " . NOT. LET. YOU. HURT. AANG!" She yelled commandingly.

"Very well. Mai, Ty Lee, take care of the other two. This one's mine." Azula and Katara now glared at each other, the former making the first move by propelling herself forward on fire skates. She closed in on the waterbender, noticing that her opponent was smirking. Before she knew it, Azula was face first on the ground with her feet frozen.

Meanwhile, Mai and Toph where in a fight of their own. Although, it was just Toph holding up a rock wall, rapidly punching rocks out of it at her opponent, while the latter was avoiding the stones and throwing knives in her counter attacks. Toph had decided to take a defensive approach since she couldn't feel the knives in the air. Instead, she relied on punching rocks out of her defensive wall and stomping the ground, causing pillars to shoot up at Mai.

Sokka and Ty Lee were fighting near the river, although it was rather one sided. Sokka swung a punch at his opponent until he felt his arm go limp from a jab from Ty Lee. He swung another punch at her with his other arm, which also went completely limp from a jab. Sokka paused, wondering what to do now until he attempted to kick her. Again, she paralyzed his leg with a jab. Frustrated, Sokka moved to head butt her which was quickly met by a jab, but to no avail. She cringed at the pain as Sokka smirked. "Nice try, but no."

At this point, Katara had gripped Azula's legs with water and slammed her into the ground. Azula had underestimated her waterbending opponent, especially under the power of the full moon. After gathering herself from the violent attack, Azula sent a whip of fire which was quickly doused by the water. Frustrated, Azula yelled, "You dirty peasant, let's see how you like this." Azula began skating towards Katara again, this time, sending a stream of blue flame in Katara's direction. Katara quickly formed a giant wave from the river behind her and sent it Azula's way, picking her up and freezing her in place.

Katara walked towards Azula's panting form, "Now. Tell me where Aang is!"

Azula looked up to her and smirked, "I don't answer to peasants." She quickly melted the ice at her feet and sent flames at Katara, burning through Katara's leggings and singing her skin on one of her legs. She fell to one knee as Azula now stepped forward. Katara's pain easily shown on her face as Azula kicked Katara in the chest, sending her back to the river. Toph and Sokka were there too as they were now losing their own fights. Cornered at the river with Momo, Appa, Sokka, and Toph, Katara struggled to stand up as a shooting pain ran through her leg.

"Toph..." Katara moaned. "Bend an earth tent over yourselves."

"Why?" Toph responded, still fighting in the same style as earlier.

"Just do it!" Katara practically cried out. Toph did as she was told, leaving Katara outside of the earth-tent alone, watching as the three girls approached her.

"What have we here? A peasant ready to beg for mercy?" Azula asked.

Katara ignored her comment. "Do you know why you never back a waterbender into a river at night?" Katara snapped back.

"Please, humor me." Azula stated plainly.

"Very well." At this, Katara lifted an enormous wall of water, draining the river, and sent it down on her enemies, pushing them, and their transportation into the woods. The massive flow of water nearly knocked down the trees within the forest. Once her attack was finished, Katara quickly collapsed on the ground in exhaustion and pain as Toph retracted her giant earth tent. Sokka ran over to his struggling sister.

"Come on sis, we have to get out of here." Sokka picked her up and carried her onto Appa with Toph following suit. Once on Appa, Sokka set down Katara, "Heal yourself and get some rest." Katara nodded with a cringe as Sokka commanded Appa to take off.

Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai watched as the sky bison flew away. "Well, are we going to follow them?" Ty Lee asked.

"No. They are no immediate threat to us, and they are not with the Avatar. Right now, we must go after my uncle and brother. The Avatar is with them."

 _Two days later,_

Aang, Iroh and Zuko had just made a plan to catch the secret ferry to Ba Sing Se, however, they would have to cut through the Si Wong desert. They hoped they could make it to a village just North of Gaoling. Things were going well within their little group, other than the fact that they had to walk everywhere. Aang was learning firebending, Zuko was starting to be friendlier with Aang, and Iroh was happy to see his nephew change for the better.

Right now they were resting and eating lunch in an open area surrounded by rocky hills. Iroh had brewed some tea, and Aang was drawing symbols in the dirt at the edge of camp as he sat in a lotus position. Curious, Zuko walked over and sat next to him and looked at the drawings. They were very good, but he was curious to why he was drawing what he was. The symbols of the four nations were perfectly drawn out around each other.

"You never told me much about the Air Nomads." Aang took a shaky breath at Zuko's comment. Zuko took notice, "I mean...you don't have to if don't want, I know it's a sore subject with what my people did."

"It's ok. I should try to celebrate their lives and remember the fun I had rather than mourn them."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't be, it wasn't your fault." Aang sighed.

"So, what was it like?"

"It was amazing. We were always having fun, especially once I completed my training." Aang said, gleefully. "Monk Gyatso and I would always make fruit pies and through at the elders."

"So, what was Monk Gyatso like?"

"A lot like your uncle actually. Powerful, wise, and always having a fun time."

"Sounds like a great man."

Aang sighed, "He was. He really was." A tear ran down his cheek."

"It's ok. He would be proud of you." As Zuko said this, a large explosion rocked the area. Bothe he and Aang stood up and ran over to Iroh.

"What happened?" Aang asked, but he didn't need an explanation as he saw three girls walk up in front of them.

"Why Zuzu, you hair has gotten quite long."

Zuko grumbled. "Why are you here?"

"What? Has helping the Avatar made you an imbecile?" She asked sarcastically. "I have come to take you three back to the Fire Nation as...trophies for my father."

"Enough of this! We will defeat you!" Aang yelled, rather angrily.

"Such strong words from such a weak boy." Azula stated, crossing her arms.

"I am stronger than you think."

"Your waterbending friend doesn't seem to agree, she told me you abandoned her. Too bad you can't apologize if you won't come with me."

"What have you done to her?!" Aang screamed, on the verge of tears.

"Oh, the usual; torture, slavery." She smiled. Aang clenched his fists. "And many have my men haven't seen their wives in years." She said suggestively, shocking everyone around her. Though it was a lie, she had everyone convinced.

Her eyes went wide at the sight in front of her. Aang's eyes and tattoos glowed a bright blue as he now looked her dead in the eye. The piercing glare of his glowing eyes was even enough to frighten Azula. He then spoke with the voices of all the past Avatars behind it, "You will pay for what you've done!" He then rose above the ground in a swirling torrent of air and sand.

"Zuko, we need to get out of here." Iroh exclaimed, grabbing his nephew and running to a safe distance and taking cover behind a rock.

Azula watched as the Avatar's anger was unleashed. She shot a bolt of lightning directly at him, however, with his newfound knowledge he was able to redirect it directly at his three enemies. Surprised, they all still managed to dodge the counter attack. As Azula brought herself up to a kneel, she looked up to see the Avatar slam into the ground, unleashing a tsunami of earth in her direction. None of them could react as they were launched hundreds of feet back.

Mai got up and started to walk away, looking back at the destruction. "I'm not about to die today." She stated dryly.

"How dare you give up!" Azula exclaimed tiredly.

Ty Lee got up, "Azula, we need to leave. He will destroy us in this state."

Azula was frustrated, "I will not run away from a child!"

"If we run we can capture him another day when he is in a weaker state." Ty Lee added.

Azula grunted, "Very well, let's leave." She got up and followed her friends out of the area, ready to fight another day.

Aang was now standing in the midst of the rubble, still in the Avatar State, when his own spirit was pulled from his body. He soon realized that he was riding on a dragon with Roku.

"It's time you learned." They fly higher above the dusty clouds. Cuts to side shot of the dragon, many small figures seen floating in the distance. "The Avatar State is a defense mechanism, designed to empower you with the skills and knowledge of all the past Avatars." He paused. "The glow is the combination of all your past lives, focusing their energy through your body. In the Avatar State, you are at your most powerful, but you are also at your most vulnerable."

"What do you mean?" Aang asked.

If you are killed in the Avatar State," Roku started as Aang noticed a line of Avatars appear next to him, Roku at the closest point. "the reincarnation cycle will be broken and the Avatar will cease to exist. _"_ Aang saw the line of Avatars begin to fade away in succession down the line.

Aang was shocked and worried until Roku spoke again.

"Also, you waterbending friend, Katara, is fine. The princess lied in order to get to you. Although, I assume she did not expect you to go into the Avatar State." Roku stated with a calm reassuring smile before he disappeared. His dragon flew straight downward and into Aang's body, causing him to collapse on the ground, exhausted.

Iroh and Zuko ran over to him. Iroh knealed down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You drove them away and we're safe." Iroh paused. "We should keep moving towards our destination and we can rest once we get there." Iroh helped Aang up as the latter dusted himself off. They continued their journey, hoping they could get to the security of Ba Sing Se, and fast.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading and please review. See you next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8: Healing Hands

**ANNOUNCEMENT! I have a complete plan for the rest of this fic and more. First, I have a total of 20 chapters planned, with their titles and plot summary. Second, every time I post a new chapter, I will include the title for the next chapter in the summary to add anticipation for you guys. Third, THE BIG PLAN, I am going to also write Book 3 as a continuation of the plot line I am writing right now for Book 2. Lastly, I also want to write a Book 2.5, in order to fill my own plot holes between Book 2 and Book 3. YAY! I am ambitious, but I love the challenge. OH! I also came up for the name of my "Book 3." It will be: Book 3: Fire in the... I won't say the last word because it will spoil some plans I have for Book 2: Earthly Barriers. Although, feel free to guess the last word of the title, if you wish, it can be a game!**

 **One bit of slight bad news. I know I am a quick updater by fanfiction standards, and I am proud of that. However, after this chapter, updates will be more spread apart. I am leaving for vacation at the end of next week and will then go directly into my first year of college, so it may be a little while before the next chapter. Mainly because I want to focus on school and get used to college life.**

 **Anyways, on to the chapter; this one is a more relaxing chapter, no fighting. Chapter 8: Healing Hands. The next chapter will be "The Library."**

Chapter 8: Healing Hands

Iroh was worried. Worried for the young airbender. Ever since their battle with Azula, Aang had pushed himself away from Iroh and Zuko. Iroh, to an extent, understood why: he was scared. Scared of himself. Scared of hurting others. Iroh had heard stories of the Avatar State, but never had he thought he could see its power firsthand. He had to admit, it was scary, and Aang knew t that too; that was why he was avoiding everyone. He needed help.

Iroh stood up, leaving the crackling fire and the soothing orange glow it put off in the cool night. He passed a dozing Zuko, who was leaning against a rock, and continued down the small canyon. He knew where the boy was; there was a lone maple tree in the canyon that he had climbed into earlier. Aang ad been there all evening. Iroh assumed that Aang would be asleep when he approached. He was surprised to hear the boy's voice when he reached the base of the maple tree.

"Hey Uncle." Came his voice in a somber tone.

"No need for formalities, Aang." Iroh replied, peering into the branches of the tree, not able to see anything. "If you wish to come down, I would like to talk." He suggested and no sooner, Aang dropped out of the tree, cushioning his fall with airbending.

"Hey Uncle." He murmured again.

"As I said before, you can just call me Iroh."

"I would prefer to call you Uncle or Master Iroh. With the Air Nomads, we were always taught to respect our elders, and the best way is to do that is to use their title." He replied, rather seriously.

"Very well, come sit." With this, he and Aang sat down under the tree in the lotus position. "May I ask what is bothering you?" He asked, showing genuine concern in his eyes.

"It's nothing." Aang sighed.

"I don't believe it's nothing. Please, tell me. I just wish to help" He stated softly, but firmly.

"Ok. I...I was scared." He replied shakily.

"And why is that?" Iroh asked, fully knowing what Aang was scared of hurting others with the Avatar State.

"I'm...I'm scared of hurting you guys because I can't control my emotions." He looked down and away from Iroh. He turned to look at Iroh again, only with tears brimming his eyes. "Do you know what it's like to watch yourself cause so much destruction and not be able to stop it?!" He choked.

"No, I don't, Aang. But, please remember that as the Avatar, you will always have that power and-"

Aang cut him off, "Well, I don't want that power!"

"Aang, please listen." Pleaded Iroh. "If my memory serves me, you will eventually be given the chance to master it." He paused, looking into Aang's eyes. "I know it's tough, but just like your fear of firebending, you will have to come to terms with it eventually." Aang nodded, seeming to understand what Iroh was saying. Iroh smiled, "And, I think the Avatar state is beautiful, in its own way of course."

Aang quirked an eyebrow, curious as to what Uncle had to say, "How so?"

"Well, it's the culmination of a thousand lifetimes coming together in harmony, working together. That is what that glow is, am I right?" Aang smiled and nodded. "Sure, it's destructive, but never forget that it is why the world is at peace during the time of the Avatar." Aang frowned a bit. He disappeared for a hundred years and came back to a world at war. "The power it possesses it great, but in a person like you, there is nothing to be afraid of." Iroh smiled.

"But you saw what happened when Azula said that to me, about Katara." Aang rose his voice.

Iroh shook his head. "What she said was disgusting and wrong. She won't say anything like that again to you. Your reaction only demonstrates the immense love you have for your friend." Aang blushed a little at the comment. Iroh stroked his beard for a moment in thought, "Please, tell me more about your friends. You haven't told me much about them; I would certainly like to know more before I get to meet them." Iroh stated, hoping to get the young boy happy again, not only with talking about his friends, but the confidence that he will see them again soon.

Aang grinned, "Well...I'll talk about Sokka first. He is obsessed with eating meat and talking about his skills with a boomerang, which I must say, he is quite good at." Aang paused before Iroh gestured for him to continue. "He's actually quite funny, although, most of his humor stems with from bad puns and sarcasm." Aang chuckled. "All that aside, when things get tough, he's the brains of our group; he always has a plan. Also, his love for his sister, Katara, is immense. He will do anything to protect her. Actually, before I met them, their father left to fight in the war, leaving Sokka to watch over the tribe, so he had to grow up fast." Aang frowned, thinking about how it was his fault that there even was a war that their father had to fight in.

"That had to be hard on both of them. Tell me about his physical attributes, so I could get an idea of what he looks like." Iroh asked.

"Well, he's sixteen now, I think, and a little shorter than Zuko. He's got a wolf tail style haircut, blue eyes and he is strong."

"And your earthbending master, _Toph_ was it?" He asked.

"Yes. Well...where do I start?" Aang paused. "Um well...she uh...she's um...different." He stuttered. "First off, she's blind, but you forget sometimes because she can see with her feet through the vibrations in the earth; it's actually quite incredible." He paused. "Anyway, She's extremely hard-headed. She can be extremely rude and doesn't take any nonsense. Also, she is the self-proclaimed 'Greatest Earthbender in the World.''' He chuckled. "She doesn't act like a twelve year old girl. Actually, she hardly acts like a girl. She's uh...well she's a one-of-a-kind, and you'll know her when you see her."

"Hmm, sounds like an interesting girl. Now, tell me about Katara, you've told me about her waterbending prowess, and that you like her, a lot, but not much else." Iroh stated.

Aang blushed deeply, even Iroh could see the bright crimson glow through the night sky. "Well um...you see she uh-"

Iroh laughed, "There's no need to be nervous, Aang. I won't tell anyone about your crush."

Aang blushed deeper, "I...well...you see...it's not really a crush."He looked down.

Iroh stopped laughing, "Than what is it?"

Aang spoke, the blush ever present. "Well umm...I think I actually might be...in love with her." Aang looked up into Iroh's eyes hesitantly.

Iroh smiled, "Well, then tell me why."

Aang's blush had disappeared and he smiled. "Well she's really pretty, in every way: her eyes, her hair, her smile, her laugh, her voice. Just everything. She's so caring too." He pause as tears of happiness began to form. "She will never turn her back on those in need. She's strong willed and stubborn. And I mean stubborn, but that's another reason why I love her; she just never gives up on what she believes in, it's special you know." He paused again as Iroh smiled at him in encouragement. "She...she was always there for me." He began to cry, only this time, out of sadness. "That's why I coped so well with coming back after a hundred years; she was just there." He paused and took a shaky breath. "I...I just miss her so much." He finished as more tears came out of his eyes.

"She sounds like a amazing young woman." Aang slowly nodded in reply. Iroh let Aang have a few more moments before placing his hand on his shoulder, "You love for her is deep, Aang. Let that make you stronger. You will see her again soon, just stay strong young one."

"I will, and thank you." Aang replied with a weak smile.

"Let's go back to camp and get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." With that they got up and left the maple tree to head back to camp, ready to continue their journey toward Ba Sing Se.

 _Meanwhile,_

It was another cold, dark night of flying. It has been three days since Azula's attack and Sokka thought it best to travel at night, for it would be harder to be tracked, and the only place where Katara could sleep was on Appa. Ever since the encounter with Azula, Katara had not been doing well; after the battle, she had severe burns on her left leg, right arm and hand, as well as multiple cuts and bruises. She was constantly healing and rehabbing herself during the daytime hours, but things were progressing slowly, luckily her burns would not scar. She had healed her cuts, bruises and the burn on her hand, but the burns on her arm and leg were better, but still painful. Around camp, Katara walked around with a slight limp and rarely used her right arm. She also had to cut her leggings and her under-wrappings short and her, due to the fact that they were burned, revealing more skin than Sokka would have liked from his sister. Although her water tribe dress covered the front and back, it did not cover the sides, leaving a perfect view for any jerk to see.

Sokka scrunched his nose at the thought. _If anyone so much as looks at her in that way, I will be sure they will never see the light of day._ Now, though, it was time to check on his sister and Toph. Sokka climbed up the hump of Appa's back and into the saddle, the cool night air nearly freezing him in place. As he plopped down on the saddle he looked around. Toph was sleeping soundly, a blanket wrapped around her and a pack behind her head. He turned his gaze to his sister, who was lying on her left side, facing the center of the saddle. Katara was in her sleeping bag along with Momo, who has noticed her distress lately. She had a contents smile painted on her face, a rarity nowadays, though, she was shivering.

Sokka crawled to the back of the saddle and to his pack, which was sitting next to Toph, and pulledd out another blanket for his sister. He shuffled over to her and placed the blanket over her, careful not to disturb her. Although he was often called a hardhead, or un-caring, by Katara, he was still her brother and he needed to help her whenever she needed it most. _Right Now. She needs me now._ He thought. She was in pain, horrible pain; not just physical, but emotional pain. Which confirmed once she reacted to the newfound warmth.

With a new comfort Katara spoke in her sleep, "Mmm. Thank you, Aang." She murmured.

With those words, Sokka was overcome by a grave sadness. He knew she cared for him. She missed him. They all did, but especially her. He always knew that she had feelings for him, the depths of which, he did not know. Now, though, she was dreaming of him. That was given. He was happy that she was happy, but she couldn't see what he and Toph could: Reality. The chances of Aang being captured, at this point, were high, but he couldn't tear Katara down like that. Not only that, but if he said something, she would probably disappear at night to save him herself. That's just the way she is, stubborn, willful, brave, strong and determined. When she had a mission, she was going to see it through, and he couldn't let her do that now. Not when they had no idea where Aang was and that there were three crazy girls after him, and probably Zuko.

 _Zuko, haven't seen him in a while_. As he completed his thoughts, the sun began to rise above the horizon to his right. He slowly stood, patting his sisters shoulder softly, and headed for Appa's head, looking for a clearing to land in. He needed sleep, and Katara need to heal. Toph, on the other hand, well...she was just Toph. Sokka took Appa's reins and guided him to a small clearing. The trees were beginning to thin out, signifying the approaching desert. With a soft grunt, Appa set down gently, knowing of the snoozing passengers on his back. Sokka quietly gathered all the supplies he could, ones not being used by Katara or Toph, and set up a small camp. By the time the sun was fully above the horizon, Sokka had started a fire, gathered food, water and started breakfast; although he can really only cook meat and soup. He also rolled small logs near the fire to sit on and set up a tent for Katara to do her healing magic, as Sokka put it. Once he was finally able to sit and close his eyes, he heard a voice from Appa's back.

"Hey, Meathead. Your sister needs help." Came Toph's undeniable bellow.

Sokka sighed and stood up. Although Katara was doing better, she still couldn't get on or off Appa without help. He walked to Appa's tail, which he so kindly laid on the ground, and climbed up. Once to the top, he saw his sister and smiled. "How ya doin' sis?"

She gave him a weak smile, "Better, but I still need your help."

"I know just hang on." And with that he picked her up bridal style and slowly climbed down Appa's tail, followed by Toph. "I started breakfast and got your tent ready."

"Sokka, you really didn't have to do all this by yourself, especially after flying all night." She scolded him.

"Yeah well, you're not in any condition to do anything." He repremanded setting her down on one of the logs. "And would you really want Toph to gather food and water." He chuckled.

"Hey!" Yelled Toph, punching his arm.

Sokka didn't reply. Katara sighed, "But Sokka-"

"No 'buts.' I don't want you to hurt yourself and you need to spend your time healing, ok." He scolded her gently.

Katara sighed in defeat, "Ok."

"Good. Now I'm gonna get some sleep. Please be careful and do your magic healing."

"Sokka!" She exclaimed with a mile. He was happy to see her smile again.

"Ok. Ok. I'll leave you alone." And with that he slipped into his tent and quickly fell asleep. Once he was out of sight, Katara stood up, letting out a small whimper, and walked to their water skins. She grabbed one and made her way back to her seat, sitting down, she pulled back her dress slightly and began the healing process. She cringed at the initial touch of the water, but eventually relaxed at the soothing feeling. She continued to work on her leg, all the while, Toph sat across the fire, staring blankly in her direction.

Toph couldn't understand the pain she was in. She had never been burned before and she dreaded what a burn would look like if she could see it. She wanted to help; she may have seemed like a rude, down-to-earth (No pun intended) stubborn girl, but she really looked out for her friends and she wanted to show it. "Do you need any help?" She asked genuinely.

Katara stopped what she was doing and looked up at the blind girl, a little shocked. What could she do to help. Not wanting to just pass it off, Katara had an idea, "Um...sure. Can you bend a small platform so I can elevate my leg a little." Katara asked, knowing she didn't need to keep it elevated at this point. The worst damage was gone, now it just stung more than anything.

Toph stood up and walked towards her friend. "You might wanna move your leg to the side for a minute." Toph suggested. Once she felt Katara's leg move, Toph stomped the ground, raising a small circular earthen platform about a foot off the ground.

Once the earth had settled, Katara lifted her leg so her foot was resting on the platform and continued her healing session. Her arm stung from its burn, but her leg was worse so she pressed on. "Thank you, Toph."

"Hey. What are friends for?" She asked rhetorically, and was surprised to get an answer as she sat back down.

"Being there when they are needed most, when others won't be. They're always kind. They forgive. They comfort you." A tear escaped her eye. Toph continued to listen. "They...they never leave your side." She choked as she moved to heal her arm, all her gratitude coming out in one swig

There was a moment of silence as Toph contemplated this. "What about brothers?" Toph asked softly.

There was a small chuckle from Katara through her sobs. "Well...they always annoying. They're butts sometimes. They don't always understand you." More tears ran down her face. "But...but they'll do anything in their power to protect you, no matter what." She choked.

Toph wanted to cry, but she had to stay strong for Katara. "And Aang?"

Katara felt something make its way into her throat. She gulped, "He likes people for who they really are. He...he is always selfless towards others. He's everything a brother and a friend are, other than the annoying parts of a brother." She chuckled slightly. "He...he...he's the most amazing and caring person in the world." She paused taking a shaky breath. "I...I...I love him, Toph." She exclaimed, stopping her healing.

"I know it's tough, but Sokka and I are here for you." Toph comforted.

Katara was relieved and grateful for everything. She looked up at Toph and pulled her into a fierce hug. "I know and I can't thank you or Sokka enough for everything."

"Yeah. Yeah. Just don't tell Sokka; he'll think I'm goin' soft, which I'm not!" Toph exclaimed. "Now, fix yourself up because I wanna spar with you again."

Katara giggled, feeling much better both physically and mentally. "Yes, Miss Beifong." Toph glowered at her before walking away while Katara continued her healing, now happy and hopeful of the future.

 **A/N: Again, the next update will probably be a while. Thanks for reading and please review; it helps me out so much to know you guys enjoy this.**


	9. Chapter 9: The Library

**Hey guys, I'm back. I just finished my first week of college and it has been going great. I want to apologize for the wait, but as a warning, this is probably going to be how the updates for all my stories will go.**

 **On to the story: I have been periodically writing this for about 2 weeks now, and it's finally done. My longest chapter yet:** ** _7,590_** **words long. There is a lot going on in this chapter and I hope you like it. And I apologize in advance for any choppiness or incoherencies. This chapter was hard to write, even with the Avatar Wiki to help me with remembering some of the dialogue and events.**

 **Thanks for reading, and please review.**

Chapter 9: The Library

 _This is getting ridiculous. She is happy one minute, sad the next and then gets angry at everything. But now, all she is, is angry._ Sokka groaned. Katara has been unstable since the battle with Azula. She was closed off and quiet during her injury, then sad about the whole situation of not being able to do anything, but now, she seems angry at everything. Mad at Sokka. Mad at Toph. Mad at plants. Herself. Everything!

However, all of this, was Sokka's fault. After Katara finished healing the burn on her leg, she had become happier, being able to do things again. That is, until the siblings got into an argument about where to camp. They traded a few insults until their own tempers took over. After Katara called her brother a 'lazy hog-monkey that she is ashamed to be related to,' Sokka lost his own temper, sending her into a crash course into sadness and then anger the moment he spoke.

 _Flashback..._

 _"You know what, Katara?!" Sokka yelled, fists clenched at his sides and a blind earthbender behind him. "You are nothing but a lousy, good-for-nothing sister who drove away her best friend and now you waltz around with your new 'bare legs' routine, and attracting boys to you like fish to water!" He stopped, realizing what he had said as he gazed into the broken and teary eyes of his sister. He knew everything he said was wrong, from Aang's separation, to her bare legs; which is just because her leggings got burnt and she hasn't been able to find new one's at the last town they were in. "K-Katara, I'm-" But he was cut-off by a water whip to the face as his sister stormed off. Ashamed, he looked down to the ground, hoping his mother hadn't heard any of what had happened._

 _"Now you've done it, meat-head!" Toph exclaimed._

 _End Flashback..._

 _I can understand her being mad at me, but why everything else._ Sokka thought as Toph came back to camp. "Any luck?"

"What do you think, bozo?"

"Bozo?" He asked, intrigued at the new nickbame.

"Eh, thought I would try something new." She sat down on a nearby rock as Sokka leaned against his own. "Anyway, she's just staring at those groundhog things that keep popping out of the ground."

"We need to find something to cheer her up." Sokka mused, pulling out a map. He scanned it, tracing his right index finger along a sightline. "Aha! This is it!" He exclaimed, holding up the map to Toph. "Don't you see, this is perfect!"

"No, I don't see." She muttered in reply."

"Oh, right. Anyway, it's called the misty palms oasis; it's perfect for her."

"Yeah, it might be if you can convince her to go."

"Well, brace yourself." And with that, Sokka and Toph got up to get Katara.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After dodging water whips and other assorted waterbending attack moves, Sokka and Toph were eventually able to convince Katara to go. Though Katara claimed she was only going in order to get them off her back, she was inwardly intrigued by the concept of the oasis. As she sat in the back of the saddle with her arms crossed, gazing off the side into the vast desert below, Katara tried to imaging such a place out here. But every time she thought about the oasis, Katara had to remind herself of her larger, more important mission: getting Aang back.

As Katara finished her thoughts, the group had landed just outside of a small village with a short, circular wall. The grass plains seemed to end right there, the edge of the desert. After Sokka slid off of Appa, he offered a helping hand to his sister. Who, instead, slid down on her own and walked passed him, completely ignoring him. Sokka shook his head and followed, alongside Toph, after his sister.

Once inside the main gate, Sokka noticed the small, sandstone huts and shops, though he noticed his sister had stopped walking. She was just standing there, staring at a large chunk of ice in the middle of the village. It obviously wasn't what it was supposed to be. Katara scoffed sarcastically, "Nice choice, brother."

Sokka clenched his fists, "I am sick of this!" He huffed. "What's your problem, Katara?!"

Katara scrunched her face in anger and turned around to face her brother. She walked up to him until their noses were nearly touching. She jabbed her finger into his chest. "Do you wanna know what my problem is?!" She yelled. "My problem is that I have been burned! I have been cut! My best friend is gone! And, you! Keep! Pestering! Me!" She yelled, leaving a speechless Sokka and onlookers alike.

"Guys, you're making a scene." Toph interjected.

Sokka looked down in shame, "Katara," He sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just that...it's hard to see you like this, and it's frustrating and sad for me at the same time. I just want you to be back to normal, ok Katara."

She was on the verge of tears, "Well, if you're _so_ sorry, then why don't you bring...m-mom back!" She started to let out choked sobs. "Or-or A-Aang." She whimpered, falling into her brother's shoulder and soaking it with tears.

All Sokka could do was hold her tight and rub her back. After a few moments of sobbing from Katara, she finally began to relax and only produced shuttering breaths. "Katara?"

"M-mmmh" She hummed into his shoulder.

"I know I'm not the best brother, but I want you to know that I love you and I'll protect you, no matter what." He murmured, rubbing his sister's back.

Katara pulled away from him with swollen red eyes and a sad, yet grateful smile on her face. "Sokka, you're the best brother in the world, and I know you love me; I love you, too. I know you will protect me, but it's...it's just been hard."

Sokka smiled, "I still want to apologize calling you a...uh...uh." Katara gave him an angered, yet expecting quirk of the eyebrow. "Uh...never mind, you...know what I was getting at." He averted his eyes.

"Smooth." Muttered Toph.

Katara smiled and brought her brother into a hug. "Apology accepted." She pulled back and playfully nudged his shoulder with her elbow. "Now, let's get something to drink. It's extremely hot."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Inside a small shack, the three friends noticed a bar serving drinks, with quite a few sandbenders around, and an old man sitting at a Pai Sho table. They now realized they were in a tavern. The hanging sign behind them fell down, as a man, in rather large hat, at the bar orders a drink. "One mango, please." The bartender uses two swords to slice a bowl from a large chunk of ice. He cuts down some mangos from the overhanging fruit and dices them up. He chops up a piece of fruit and pours a jug of milk into the bowl, still using the swords. He throws a decorative umbrella and straw into the bowl and serves it to the man, who gives the bartender a coin.

Impressed by the whole display Sokka mused his thoughts aloud, "I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we figure out what to do now." Sokka runs up to the bartender, "Excuse me." At that moment, the man in the hat bumped into Katara, spilling his drink all over her.

"I am so sorry, my dear!" The man gasped in horror as Momo came to lick the liquid off Katara.

"No, no, it's ok." Katara defended. She used a couple intricate motions with her hands, causing all of the liquid to leave her clothes as she tossed it out the door, Momo perched on her shoulder.

The man gasped, gazing at her. "You're a waterbender! And...and is that a flying lemur. Where did you get it."

Katara looked down, she might as well be honest to the man. "Well...you see...my friend is the Avatar. This is his lemur, Momo."

"May I ask where the Avatar is?" The man asked.

Katara sighed. "We got separated a little under two months ago." A very solemn expression came over her face.

The man saw her change in demeanor and tried to comfort her. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you will find him soon."

"I hope so." Katara muttered, turning away.

"I suppose a formal introduction is needed. I am Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University."

"So Professor, you're obviously a well-traveled guy. Do you have a more current map? Ours seems to be a little dated."

"Certainly."

Sokka unrolled the map given to him on a table and examined it while Toph sipped her drink and propped her legs on another chair. "What, no Fire Nation?" He straightened up. "Doesn't anybody have a good map of that place?" He has been wanting a map of the Fire Nation, for when the time came that they would need it.

Katara walked up behind and examined the map. "You sure have made a lot of trips into the desert."

"All in vain, I'm afraid. I've found lost civilizations all over the Earth Kingdom," He rose his fist slightly, "but I haven't managed to find the crown jewel: Wan Shi Tong's Library."

"You spent years walking through the desert to find some guy's library?" Toph asked, sounding as if both surprised, and annoyed.

"This library is more valuable than gold, little lady. It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge, and knowledge is priceless." Zei replied.

"Hmm, sounds like good times." Toph replied sarcastically.

"Oh, it is. According to legend, it was built by the great Knowledge Spirit, Wan Shi Tong, with the help of his "foxy" knowledge seekers."

"Oh, so this spirit has attractive assistants, huh?" Sokka asked, intrigued.

Katara put her hand over her brother's mouth to stop him talking. "I think he means they look like actual foxes, Sokka.

"You're both right." Katara and Sokka turn to him in surprise. Cut to Zei. "Handsome little creatures." He took out a drawing of the library and places it on the table. "Wan Shi Tong and his knowledge seekers collected books from all over the world, and put them on display for mankind to read, so that we might better ourselves."

"If this place has books from all over the world, do you think they've got info on the Fire Nation? A map, maybe?"

I wouldn't know. But if such a thing exists, it's in Wan Shi Tong's Library.

"Then it's settled. I would like to go to THE LIBRARY!" Sokka exclaimed triumphantly, pointing his finger into the air.

"Of course, there's the matter of finding it. I've made several trips into the Si Wong Desert and almost died each time." Zei finished with a depressed tone. "I'm afraid that desert's impossible to cross."

"Professor, would you like to see our sky bison?" Sokka asked cockily.

"A Sky Bison. You actually have one?!" Zei asked, completely shocked.

Sokka piped up, "Yeah. He's Aang's!"

Zei put his hand on his chin. "Am I right to presume Aang is the Avatar."

"Yes." Sokka confirmed. Meanwhile, Katara was somewhere else, not physically, but mentally. Lately, Sokka had often caught her spacing out, or in deep thought. Sokka noticed this, "Katara." Nothing. "Earth to Katara!"

"Huh, what?" She visibly shook her head to get herself out of her thoughts.

"You spaced out." He stated simply. "Again."

"Sorry, I was just thinking. Are we ready to go?" She tried to reassure with a smile, though she started to fiddle with her braid. She knew she was struggling. Who wouldn't? Losing your best friend and then getting hurt.

Sokka gave her a questioning look, but dismissed her odd behavior. _She's hiding something._ "Yes we are ready."

They all gathered on top of Appa, ready to take flight. Sokka took the reins and said the two words that would let them take flight. Toph sat at the back edge of the saddle in the corner, Katara was next to her in the other back corner while Professor Zei was at the front of the saddle, looking out at the blue sky, feeling the wind that comes with flight. Sokka was a little uncomfortable, though. Something was wrong with Katara. _But, what is it?_ She went from angry, to hiding away in her own thoughts and not really speaking to anyone. Sokka turned around to see Professor Zei now looking off the sides for the library. He also saw his sister, arms crossed and leaning on the edge of the saddle. Her chin resting on the back of her hands while she gazed off into nothing. _She really does miss him._ He turned his attention back to the horizon of the desolate desert.

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"Uncle," Zuko paused, looking around at the run-down village. "Why did you bring us here?"

"That which is hidden, but is always there." Iroh mused allowed.

Zuko and Aang stopped and gave each other a confused, and questioning look, as Iroh continued into a sandstone hut. "I know I've been traveling with you guys for a while, but, is he always that cryptic."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0

"Hey, look...Fire Nation wanted posters!" Xin Fu pointed out. He saw the images of the banished Fire Nation prince, Iroh and The Avatar.

"So?" Yu asked.

Xin Fu's gaze followed the three into the tavern. "So, look who's here."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Zuko sighed and looked at his feet. "Yeah. He is." They continued into the hut only to find Iroh standing in front of a Pai Sho table with an older man across from him."

"You brought us here to gamble on Pai Sho?"

"I don't think this is a gamble." Iroh muttered with a smile. Iroh stepped forward, offering the man a smile. "May I have this game?" He asked.

The man gestured for Iroh to sit down. "The guest has the first move." Iroh sat down and place the lotus tile in the center of the board. "I see you favor the white lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways." He cupped his hands towards Iroh.

"Those who do can always find a friend." Iroh stated with a serious smile. He copied the man's gesture of cupping his hands toward him.

Aang leaned towards Zuko and whispered, "There he goes again." Zuko chuckled at the remark.

"Then let us play." The old man placed a tile on the board, quickly followed by a tile placed by Iroh. Seemingly without even looking at what the other person was doing, the two man quickly place their tiles on the board. Zuko and Aang sat down and watched intently as the two man place one tile after the other. When they were done, their tiles form the shape of a lotus flower. "Welcome, brother. The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets."

"What are you old gasbags talking about?" Zuko was confused and frustrated at this point.

"I always tried to tell you that Pai Sho is more than just a game." Iroh replied. Zuko looked at Aang and only shrugged. Iroh rolled the tile through his knuckled and clutched it triumphantly.

Xin Fu was getting impatient. He jumped up out of his seat. "I'm not waiting all night for these geezers to finish yapping!" He walked over to the Pai Sho table, followed by Yu. "It's over! You three fugitives are coming with me!"

The old man Quickly placed himself before Iroh and Zuko, preventing Xin Fu and Yu from reaching them. "I knew it! You three are wanted criminals with a giant bounty on your heads!"

"I thought you said he would help!" Zuko exclaimed.

Iroh placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder in reassurance. " He is. Just watch." Iroh smiled. Though, Aang was still a little uneasy.

"You think you're going to capture them and collect all that gold?" The old man asked Xin Fu and Yu.

"Gold?!" A man in the bar exclaimed, getting the attention of everyone else. People began to stand with knives, swords, whatever they could use as weapons.

"Uh...Maybe we shouldn't." Yu pointed out.

Xin Fu grinned. As he moves toward Zuko, Aang and Iroh, two men jump in front of him to block his path. With a reverse roundhouse kick, the earthbender bent a rock from the ground and easily pushes them out of his way.

Yu readied himself for battle. He sinks the first person to charge him into the ground. Meanwhile, Xin Fu kicked two sandbenders away while lifting another one up in the air and holding a fourth one back with his other hand. After he kicked another sandbender away, he twists his waist, sending the two men he is holding flying. One of them crashed into the wall behind the bar.

When there is no one left to fight, Xin Fu and Yu realize that their prey has escaped during the chaos. Xin Fu growls in frustration and slams his two fists on the ground, erecting a giant pillar of earth under a downed sandbender, shooting him out of the window and against a palm tree.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0

Appa continued to soar through the sky, the blazing sea of sand resting below. Sokka was still on Appa's head, though he now wore his water tribe tunic around his head. Professor Zei and resigned to studying his map. Toph was just lean her crossed arms over the edge of the saddle. Katara, well, she has been the same since they took off. Sitting in the back corner of the saddle just staring blankly out into the open expanse of sky. She was lost in thought. So many things were running through her head. _Why am I here? What's the point of all this?!_ She groaned in frustration at her last thought, causing everyone on board to look at her. Either she didn't notice, or she ignored their curious looks. It was hard to tell for the others.

Toph decided to break the silence. "Does this place even exist?" Toph asked in frustration.

"Some say it doesn't." Zei replied nonchalantly.

Toph's eyes widened in surprise before she narrowed them again. "Shouldn't you have mentioned that before?" She collapsed backwards and let her feet now rest over the edge of the saddle. After a couple of moments, Toph re-took her former position of leaning on the edge of the saddle. she jumped up in excitement and pointed to the horizon. "There it is!" Everybody on Appa got up and moved over to look to where Toph is pointing, except for Katara, who stayed in her corner and simply looked in Toph's direction. All anyone can see is sand dunes. Sokka and Zei gave her a glare of annoyance while Katara just dismissed the whole event and looks back out over her side of the saddle. "That's what it will sound like when one of you spots it." Toph stated, waving her hand in front of her eyes with a blank grin.

Sokka turned back to the front edge of the saddle and grabbed his telescope, peering through it for a couple of moments. "Wait! Down there! What's that?" Sokka jumped up and pointed at what seemed to be a giant tower. Everybody moved to the edge of the saddle to follow his pointing finger, including Katara.

Katara scoffed, "That can't be it. The building on the illustration is huge." Sokka was surprised by her pessimism. Usually, she was the optimist.

Sokka then drew his attention to something walking towards the tower. "What kind of animal is that?"

Everyone watched as the fox ran up the tower, scroll in mouth, and through a window at the top. "I think that was one of the Knowledge Seekers. Oh, we must be close to the library!" Zei yelled excitedly. His life's ambition was at his fingertips.

"No, this _is_ the library...look!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing at the illustration where the top spire appeared. It looked exactly like the pillar in the sand. "It's completely buried."

"The library is buried?!" Zei exclaimed, extremely worried. Appa landed next to the large spire as the professor hopped out early in a mad dash to somehow save his lifelong dream. "My life's ambition is now full of sand." He collapsed on the ground, but a huge smile pulled at his lips. He pulled out a shovel as he sat back up. "Well, time to start excavating." He began to dig in a mad frenzy as Toph walked up to the pillar and placed her hand against it.

"Actually, that won't be necessary. The inside seems to be completely intact. And it's huge." Toph stated after pulling her hand away from the stone pillar.

"That fox thingy went in through a window. I say we climb up there and give it a look." Sokka stated.

"I say you guys go ahead without me." Toph muttered.

Katara finally spoke as she leaned against Appa's side. "You got something against libraries?"

"I've held books before. And I gotta tell you, they don't exactly do it for me."

"Oh, right. Sorry." Replied Katara, sheepishly.

"Let me know if they have something you can listen to."

Sokka, Katara and Zei prepared to go inside. Sokka had to remind Momo that he couldn't come. Zei prepared his own, specialized kit while Sokka sheathed his trusty boomerang and his club. Katara, however, was being extra cautious. Ever since her battle with Azula, Katara had made sure she had the upper hand; that meant carrying extra water skins. As Zei and Sokka waited at the base of the tower, Katara was strapping on four water skins, readying for anything. After she was ready, the three adventurers began to climb up the tower.

Toph crossed her arms, ready for a long wait. She turned in Appa's general direction. "What's up?"

She was met with a large groan before Appa plopped himself down for a rest.

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"It is an honor to welcome such a high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus. Being a Grand Master, you must know so many secrets." The man muttered as they approached the secret door of the flower shop.

"Now that you played Pai Sho, are you going to do some flower arranging, or is someone in this club going to offer some real help ?" Zuko snarled. Aang placed a hand on Zuko's shoulder in order to calm him down and gave him a look that said, _'Calm down.'_

Iroh gave a quick glare to Zuko and a thankful smile to Aang. He turned back to the older man. "You must forgive my nephew. He is not an initiate and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts."

The old man continued to the door and knocked. He was greeted by a mysterious man. "Who knocks at the guarded gate ?"

"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries." Iroh replied.

Iroh smiled as the door opened to let him and the their guide through. When Zuko and Aang attempted to follow them, the door slams shut in front of him. They looked at the door with a pout when Iroh opened the small window. "I'm afraid it's members only. Even the Avatar. Wait out here."

An annoyed Zuko frowns and crosses his arms as he rests against a nearby table. He leans over to sniff the plant on the table as Aang looks at something on the ceiling. After hours of waiting, Zuko and Aang eventually fell asleep next to each other, leaning against one another. They were both startled awake by a creaking door, not even giving a second thought to the position they were just in as they stood up. Iroh, along with the Pai Sho player, walked through the door.

"What's going on? Is the club meeting over ?" Zuko asked, wanting to go.

"Everything is taken care of. We're heading to Ba Sing Se." Iroh replied with a smile and a nod.

"So, we're actually going to get there safely?" Aang asked, joyously.

Iroh and the man bowed to each other in respect. "Yes, we are, Aang. But, my friend would like to speak to you first."

Aang looked to the other member of the white lotus and gave him a bow. After he came up from his bow, Aang had a confused look on his face. "What would you like to speak to me about?"

"I overheard a group of three young travelers this morning talking to a professor of Ba Sing Se, claiming to be your friends." He spoke calmly.

Aang's eyes widened in shock. He quickly walked up to the man and loosely grabbed his clothing, almost as if he were clinging on like a helpless child. "You saw Katara?! You saw Sokka and Toph?!"

The man looked at the boy in shock at his sudden behavior. "If you are speaking of two water tribe children and a blind girl, than I believe that's them."

Aang let go of the man's shirt. "Where did they go?!" He asked in a mad frenzy, wanting answers as fast as he could.

The man sighed, "They went into the desert, but-"

"I'm going after them!" Aang stated firmly and with a fire of determination in his eyes. He began to walk quickly towards the door before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned back to see Iroh giving him a sad smile.

"I know how much you miss them, Aang. But, please don't be foolish. It is dangerous out there, and with no supplies, it is all but impossible."

"But...but, they're so close. I can reach them! I can-"

"No Aang. I do not wish to lose another member of my family." Aang's expression softened at the word 'family.' _Did he just call me family_. Aang didn't realize he meant that much to the old Fire Nation general.

Aang looked down at his feet, saddened. "I...I just miss them so much. And they're so close!" He groaned in frustration.

"I know, Aang. But remember, they are headed to Ba Sing Se, and so are we. You will see them again." Iroh replied with a warm smile as Aang looked back up at him.

Aang felt another hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Zuko smiling at him. "You'll see them again." Zuko added in his own, simple way.

Aang smiled, "Thank you." He whispered. At that moment, another member of the white lotus walked into the flower shop.

"I have the passports for our guests, but there are two men out on the street looking for them." Aang, Zuko and Iroh shared a look of worry.

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Katara, Zei and Sokka continued to climb down a long rope into the library. Once on solid ground again, they all looked around in amazement. They knew Toph said it was huge, but they never could have imagined. The halls seemed to go on forever as it also seemed that there was an infinite number of floors.

"Oh, it's breathtaking!" Zei exlaimed. "The spirit spared no expense in designing this place." He pointed off in the distance. "Look at those beautiful buttresses! Sokka giggled at the comment. "What's funny?"

"Nothing, I just like architecture." Sokka replied sheepishly.

"As do I." Zei replied with a sigh.

Katara shot him an annoyed glare, "You are so immature."

"My word!" Zei Examined an owl mosaic above two pillars." The exquisite mosaic handiwork of this tile-rendered avian symbol…" Sokka and Katara looked at Zei quizzically. "Eh, nice owl."

Suddenly, they could hear rustling noises. Sokka and Katara ran behind a pillar while Zei hid behind another. Wan Shi Tong, an owl spirit, walked over the bridge and examined the rope. Sokka craned his head around the pillar.

The owl turned his head "I know you're back there." Sokka gasped and hid again.

Zei smiled and walked from behind the pillar and up to Wan Shi Tong. "Hello, I'm Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University."

"You should leave the way you came." Wan Shi Tong looked to the side towards stuffed animal heads on pillars. "Unless you want to become a _stuffed_ head of anthropology."

"Are you the spirit who brought this library to the physical world?" Sokka asked.

"Indeed, I am Wan Shi Tong, he Who Knows Ten Thousand Things. And you are obviously humans, which, by the way, are no longer permitted in my study."

"What do you have against humans?" Katara asked, slightly peeved.

"Hm! Humans only bother learning things to get the edge on other humans. Like that firebender who came to this place a few years ago, looking to destroy his enemy. So…" Wan Shi Tong Leaned towards a sweating Sokka _._ "...who are you trying to destroy?"

Sokka could see his own reflection in the owl's eyes. "What? No-no-no-no destroying." Sokka stuttered. "We're not into that."

"Then why have you come here?"

"Um ... knowledge for knowledge's sake?" Sokka replied with a sheepish grin.

"If you're going to lie to an all-knowing spirit being, you should at least put some effort into it."

"I'm not lying, We're friends with the Avatar, but we go seperated and we are trying to find anything to help us find him." Sokka indeed lied, but rather convincingly. They were trying to find Aang, but not through the library's information.

"Hmm, very well. I'll let you peruse my vast collection…" Wan Shi Tong replied with a now hopeful Sokka, Katara and Zei. "...on one condition." All of their hope vanished in an instant. "To prove your worth as scholars, you have to contribute some worthwhile knowledge." He finished.

Professor Zei walked forward with a book in his hands. He kneeled down and raised the book above his lowered head. "Please accept this tome as a donation to your library."

"First edition, very nice." Wan Shi Tong grabbed the book with his wing.

Katara walked forward with a scroll in her hands. "I have an authentic waterbending scroll."

The owl looked at it. "Ooh, these illustrations are quite stylish."

Sokka walked forward. "Oh, great spirit, check this out.: He then began to tie a string into a butterfly knot and showed it to Wan Shi Tong. "Ta-da!" Katara, and Zei looked at Sokka with uncertainty. Wan Shi Tong just looked at him in silence. "It's a special knot. That counts as knowledge!"

"You're not very bright, are you?" Sokka grunted as Wan Shi Tong took the knot."Enjoy the library." He continued to Jumps off the bridge and flew down to lower levels of the library. Everybody began to walk towards the main halls of the hallway. Sokka narrowed his eyes.

"Bright enough to fool you." Muttered Sokka.

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A man exited the door of the flower shop, pulling three big flowerpots on a wooden wagon. After he leaves, Xin Fu and Yu walked towards the door. Xin Fu slammed the door open with such ferocity that an overhanging plant came crashing down. He shoved the wanted posters under the nose of the florist. "Hey you, where are these men ? I got a tip that they're in your shop."

As you can see, no one is here but us." The florist replied calmly.

"We know all about your secret back room." He motioned to xin Fu, "Kick it down."

Xin Fu charged the door like a mad bull and knocked it down along with the surrounding wall, with one mighty kick.

"Hey! That room is for flowers only!" The florist exclaimed.

"Some unlucky soul has an incomplete Pai Sho set." Yu whispers with a hint of sorrow.

Yu picked up a lotus tile that was laying in the center of the room and shows it to Xin Fu, who angrily knocked it out of his hands. "Let's go back to finding the girl."

Meanwhile,

The man continued pulling the wooden wagon with the large pots over some dunes. Zuko's, Iroh's and Aang's head emerged from underneath the flowers simultaneously. They briefly peek around before sinking back into their pots.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"So...you like...flying? Toph asked Appa. Appa purred deeply and scratched his ear.] "Of course, I'm more comfortable on the ground where I can see. Well, I don't see the way you do. I feel the vibrations in the ground with my feet." She pauses and picked up a handful of sand and let it fall. "But this sand is so loose and shifty, it makes everything look fuzzy." Appa made a rumbling groan. "Not that there's anything wrong with fuzzy." Appa grunted.

Meanwhile, in the library,

They were in a large room full of books as one of the many Knowledge Seekers placed a scroll gently on a shelf. While Zei took books off of the bookshelves and added them to his stack, Sokka took a scroll from a shelf, reads it, and puts it in his 'man bag.' Sokka then walked up a podium. A large, glass frame covered a parchment.

"The darkest day in Fire Nation history." Sokka muttered under his breath as he read the characters. "It's got a date at the top, but it doesn't say anything else." He looked around, making sure no one is watching, before he pried open the frame with his sword and taking the parchment. He began to move down the hall.

Katara and Zei rounded the corner to see Sokka running down the hall. "Sokka where are you going?" Katara asked with an exasperated sigh.

"I want to know what happened to the Fire Nation on their darkest day. This could be promising." The sound of his voice getting weaker as he disappeared down the dark hallway. Katara,and Zei followed him; Katara with much reluctance. All she wanted to do was get to Ba Sing Se, but NO. They were stuck in this library, looking for something that didn't get them any closer to their current goal. "The information on the Fire Nation should be right up here."

As Zei and Katara caught up, they saw nothing but a room filled with ash. "Firebenders." Katara muttered, fists clenching as a sudden anger came over her. _They took mom. They took dad. They took Aang!_ "They take away everything!" She yelled and walked away, stomping her feet so hard that Toph could probably feel her.

Sokka watched as his sister walked away. He was saddened. She has been so off. Every day was different. But now, she was acting so distant, and then she just had a sudden outburst of emotion. He sighed and let her go. Zei noticed how solemn Sokka looked after what had happened, and he assumed the moods around him were resultant from being separated with their friend."I just...need to know what happened on the darkest day." Sokka sighed. Suddenly, he heard whimpering and looked at the entrance to one of the Knowledge Seekers standing on its hind legs. "Hello, little weird fox guy." Sokka greeted nervously. The Knowledge Seeker got on all fours and pointed outside the room with his snout. Professor Zei took notice to the behavior, "Seems it's trying to assist you."

Sokka looked from Zei to back at the fox, "Um, sure, I guess I'll follow you."

They followed the Knowledge Seeker down the hall. They passed Katara, who was leaning agains a pillar with her arms cross in frustration, but with a thoughtful expression written on her face. As they passed her, Sokka signaled her to follow, which surprisingly enough to him, she did. They continued down the hall to a large round door with a texture lining the bottom sides of the wall. The Knowledge Seeker entered a small door in the texture. The large door opened showing the Knowledge Seeker standing behind it. Sokka, Katara and Zei walked toward the center of the room. The Knowledge Seeker pushed a lever beside the calendar wheel and the domed ceiling changed from day to night.

"This room is a true marvel, a mechanical wonder. It's a planetarium that shows the heavens moving." Zei whispered in amazement as night turned back to day.

"Uh, this is beautiful, but how is it helpful?" Sokka asked. Katara stood idly by, watching her brother intently, wanting him to hurry up.

"Um...maybe these dials represent dates and times." Katara stated as if pointing out the obvious. "Sokka, just try entering that date from that parchment you took."

Sokka mocked a whisper, "Shh, Katara, not in front of the fox, he's with the owl." He stated, trying to lighten the mood for her.

Katara knitted her eyebrows in exasperation, "Really?"

The Knowledge Seeker whimpered. Sokka glanced at the parchment and changed four of the calendar wheels. He pushes the lever and the domed ceiling changes from day to night. "This is the coolest library...ever." He gasped as the sun and moon moved around above him.

"What happened to the sun?" Zei asked, a little confused.

"Great, you must have broken it." Katara snarled, throwing her hands above her head in exasperation. "Now you're really gonna make 'an all seeing spirit' pissed off." She finished, rocking her head side-to-side, mocking Sokka for his stupidity.

It's not broken!" Sokka yelled. he pointed to show the sun piece of the planetarium covered by the moon. "The sun is behind the moon. It's a solar eclipse!" He completely forgot about Katara's attitude and hopped with glee. "It's literally the darkest day in Fire Nation history. Firebenders lose their bending during a solar eclipse." He finished by shooting his fist into the air in triumph.

The Knowledge Seeker got on its hind legs and begged. "Fine, you earned it." He tossed the fox a snack from his bag. "We've gotta get this information to the Earth King at Ba Sing Se. We'll wait for the next eclipse, then we'll invade the Fire Nation when they're totally helpless. The Fire Lord is going down!" He yelled in excitement.

Katara was now holding in her fury. _He didn't even think about Aang._ She turned to walk out of the planetarium, but stopped when she saw Wan Shi Tong right there. Katara backed up.

Mortals are so predictable, and such terrible liars. Sokka gulped. "You betrayed my trust. From the beginning, you intended to misuse this knowledge for evil purposes."

"You don't understand. If anyone's evil, it's the Fire Nation. You saw what they did to your library. They're destructive and dangerous. We need this information." Sokka raised his hands in defense.

You think you're the first person to believe their war was justified? Countless others before you have come here seeking weapons or weakness or battle strategies.

We had no choice!" Katara yelled, now oddly feeling defensive of this whole adventure she didn't want anything to do with in the first place. "We're just desperate to protect the people we love!" All she was thinking about was her family. Her father. Gran-Gran. And Aang.

"And now I'm going to protect what _I_ love." Wan Shi Tong began to fur flap his wings, causing the whole library to begin to shake and shudder.

"What are you doing?" Sokka asked.

"He's sinking the building. We've gotta get out of here." Katara exclaimed.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that. You already know too much." The owl pecked at them but missed. Wan Shi Tong pursued them as they run out the planetarium.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Appa snarled as the library began to sink below the surface and the ground started to shake. "I already told you, I don't wanna snuggle." Toph replied, exasperated. Appa stood up and hurried away from the library. Toph looked at the sinking library. "Library sinking." She ran to the library. "Library sinking!" She punches both fists into the library to stop it from sinking. Her feet slipped in the sand, so she paused to solidify it into stone. She jammed her hands back into the library struggling to stop it from sinking again.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"We've gotta get back to the surface!" Katara yelled as Sokka ran towards her, rock and sand falling from above.

"But we still don't know when the next eclipse is gonna to happen." He reasoned.

Katara looked at him with an unbelieving face. "Don't be stupid! We'll find out later!"

Sokka sighed, but refused to give up. "No, we won't. If we leave this place, we'll never get the information. Katara, you come with me to the planetarium, I need cover. Professor, you need to get out of here!"

"No, Sokka. I'll distract him." She put her hand up in resolution.

"But-" He was cut off.

"Just go!" She yelled, resolve and determination boiling in her eyes.

Suddenly, Wan Shi Tong broke through a large shelf of books and began to pursue Katara and Zei."Hurry, Sokka!" Katara yelled as she ran off, Wan Shi Tong close behind. Sokka ran off to the planetarium to discover when the next eclipse would be.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Why does this thing have to be so heavy?! Toph moaned as she tried to get a better grip of the library by pulling her fists out and then smashing them back in. "They better hurry." She huffed.

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Sokka continued to fiddle with the controls of the planetarium, watching the sun and moon dials seeming to endlessly rotate around him. He had gotten close many times, but he was running out of his own time to get out. With one last try, he struck gold. "That's it! The solar eclipse! It's just a few months away." He took out a piece of paper and wrote down the date. He then stuffed the paper in his bag and hurried out of the planetarium. Katara continued running away from Wan Shi Tong. She stopped beside a bookshelf. Wan walks on the other side of the bookshelf and spots the end of one of her water skins. "At least I'll have one specimen to add to my collection."

Wan Shi Tong tries to grab her with his beak, but Katara runs away. She reaches the bridge, the rope was gone. She turned back to face Wan Shi Tong. "Your waterbending won't do you much good here. He raised his head and unfolded his wings to attack." I've studied Northern water style, Southern water style, even Foggy Swamp st-" He was cut-off by a boomerang that came out of nowhere, striking the giant bird in the skull, knocking him out and sending him tumbling over the edge of the bridge.

"That's called Sokka style." He looked to Katara, "Let's get out of here!" He paused and turned around. "Wait! Professor, let's go."

Professor Zei sat among a pile of books and held a scroll. The sand was building up and beginning to cover some of the stacks. Zei was reading a scroll. "I'm not leaving. I can't." He dropped the parchment he was holding to his lap and raised his right fist. "I've spent too long trying to find this place." He placed his hand on his chest and looked up. "There's not another collection of knowledge like this on earth." th He closed his eyes softly. He opened his eyes while smiling and spoke wistfully. I" could spend an eternity in here.

Katara and Sokka peered at him with sad expressions. He is such an amazing man with such strong will. Sokka spoke softly, "Let's go, Katara." With that, she began to use the water from her water pouches, freezing it in front of her and Sokka as they ran. She led the ice to follow the sides of the central tower all the way up. She continued her recycling effort, bending the ice behind them back into liquid form before freezing in front of them again. As they neared the top, Katara began to waver, nearly too exhausted to continue.

"You can do it, Katara!" Sokka encouraged, and with one final push, they reached the top window. They jumped out as the window was just about to sink below the surface. Toph let go of the tower, letting it plummet below the surface. They all sat in silence for a moment. Both Katara and Top laid in the sand, panting.

Sokka kneeled down by Katara and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ok, sis?" She continued to pant, but she nodded. "And you, Toph?"

"Does it even need to be a question?" She replied dryly.

"Right, you're fine."

"Got that right, Snoozles." She walked to him and punched his arm.

He rubbed his arm where he would surely get a bruise. "Right, well, let's get out of this desert and set up camp." With that, he helped Katara up and then onto Appa. As Sokka announced for Appa to take flight, Katara instantly fell into a deep sleep, exhausted from everything she went through.

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It was late at night and the moon shone brightly over the camp. Sokka, Toph, Appa and Momo were all in deep sleep. But Katara, on the other hand, was not. She sat by the fire, pencil and paper in hand, writing a note. When she finished the note, she kneeled down to place it in Sokka's bag, which was near his head. She stood and walked over to her rolled up bed roll and travel bag. She slung her travel bag over her shoulder and held her bed roll under her armpit. As she Katara tiptoed out of camp, she slowly looked back at her sleeping friend. "I'm sorry. I have to do this." She whispered as she began to walk into the darkness of night.

 **A/N: Okay, so I probably should explain a few things. First: Yes, Appa did not get stolen. I did this for the sake of plot in this story. I wanted to make it happen, but I didn't see how I could make it work with the story moving forward. I also want to apologize for some choppiness in my writing, particularly when it came to incorporating Zei in, as well as having the library sequence without Aang.**

 **Second: Toph's parents still have a storyline in this; the still want her back. Even though I started this rewritten book 2 with Toph, I want the Xin Fu and Yu stuff going on, because that's how Toph discover metalbending. I hope you liked the new scene transition method.**

 **Again thanks for reading and as always, I love the reviews.**

 **As you could probably tell by the end of this chapter, the next one will be Katara-centric. The next chapter is,** ** _Katara Alone._**


	10. Chapter 10: Katara Alone Part I

**Summary: Ok, this part one of Katara alone. With Katara being my favorite character, this chapter was getting out of hand in length. I have so many Ideas I want to use that if I would put it into one chapter, it would come out longer than the last one. There also may be a chance that this may end up being 3 parts. But, I don't know. I have an interesting idea for next chapter that I hope you like. You'll know what idea when it appears, or you'll guess it. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and follows. Please continue the reviews.**

 **I don't own ATLA.**

Chapter 10: Katara Alone

There was this incessant chirping ringing through camp that pierced through the tranquility of the morning. Then, large, rumbling groans shook the earth, never ceasing. Now though, there was constant yanking on any part of the young man's face.

"Momo...I'm trying to sleep." Sokka groaned, but was only met by more chirping. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Blinking wearily, Sokka looked around to try to regain his bearings. Once he figured out up from down, he turned to Momo, "What's wrong, buddy?" Momo tugged on Sokka's shirt sleeve and scurried over to the spot where Katara was supposed to be sleeping. Sokka blinked wildly and looked around. Katara was nowhere to be seen. He stood up abruptly, letting his untied hair fall down, to get a better vantage point. Nothing. "TOPH!" He looked around again. "Toph, get up!"

Toph burst out of her earth tent in a fit of rage. "What is _so_ important that you have to wake me up and this stupid hour?!" She yelled.

"KATARA IS GONE!" Sokka yelled, trying to get out of this stupid fight so they can find her.

Toph relaxed at what he said. "What?" She gasped.

Sokka started to panic, "She's gone. I...I don't know if she was sleep walking. Or...or captured. AHHH!"

"Whoa, whoa. Why do you think she slept walked."

"Because she used to when she was little. One time she-"

"Save the stories for another time." Toph cut in. "She wasn't sleep walking. And, she wasn't captured."

Sokka was panicking. "How do you know that?"

"Because, Mr. Idea guy, _we_ aren't captured too. And, I can't feel any of her stuff on the ground." She replied flatly.

"What are you getting at?" Sokka asked, quirking an eyebrow in the process.

"I think she just left." Toph replied, crossing her arms.

"She wouldn't leave." He replied confidently, then paused. "Would she?"

"I would think you would know you sister better." Toph paused. "She's been off lately, we all have been pushing her buttons. She is worried about Aang. And, she's strong willed." Toph was expecting Sokka to finish her rant, but he didn't. "All that spells out to me is a renegade journey to find her friend."

Sokka looked thoughtful for a moment. "But, she didn't say anything."

"Hence her being all closed off. She was planning this. She didn't want you to stop her." Toph replied softly. She could feel how hurt he felt, and knew he was worried. "You know, she probably left a note. Have you checked your bag?"

Sokka looked up at her, "No, I haven't." He then scurried over to his bag and dumped all of its contents out. On the top of a pile was a folded up piece of paper that had _Sokka_ written on it. He opened it up and read it.

 _Hey, Sokka. I'm sorry I left, but I had too. I've been a complete mess lately, and I don't want you to see me like this anymore. I also need time to figure myself out, without your scrutiny. And I'm sorry to say this, especially because I know how close you two are, but I don't think you care as much about finding Aang as you think. I can't stand to say that, but I had to let you know. I am going to try and find him on my own, but please don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. I will meet back up with you in Ba Sing se...whether I find him or not. I know he's close. Please travel safely, and don't let Toph get in any trouble._

 _Love,_

 _Katara_

Sokka finished reading the letter and set it down. Now he understood her constant mood swings from sadness to anger, and her blanking out. She was mad at _him_ for not caring, and she was planning on leaving for a while now. Sokka sighed.

"What did the letter say?"

"What you said. She's going to try and find Aang on her own." He paused and sat down, Toph followed. "She also said she needed to figure herself out and that she would meet us in Ba Sing Se."

"Man, she really did plan this out." Toph breathed in amazement.

"I want to try and stop her, but even if we can find her, she will probably freeze us to a tree and keep on going."

"Yeah, probably." Toph shrugged. "Well, I think since she's on foot, we probably have time to stay here a bit longer."

"I...just hope she's ok."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Katara was exhausted. There was a huge storm raging, and she was having a hard time keeping the water at bay with her bending. She had been walking through the thin expanse of trees some would call a forest all night. The trail she was following was long, winding, and uneven. Though she was you, her knees couldn't take much more of this torture. So, she found a small clearing off to the side of the road and took a break. She found a decent tree to sit under and did so. When she was settled, Katara put her bag on her lap and went through it. She figured she should take inventory before she reached a village. There wasn't much gold in her bag, but luckily, she figured she had enough food to make it to Ba Sing Se. Katara also pulled out a necklace someone had given her. One made of fishing line and a flower. One made by Aang. She smiled at the thought of when he gave it to her. She looked up to the sky when she thought of his nervous grin when she put it on. _What did he say? All of you, or just your neck._ She chuckled to herself at his goofiness. But then a revelation occurred to her. He gave her the necklace, blushed profusely when she "modeled" it for him. _Wait._ She remembered how he acted in Aunt Wu's village. He was acting like Sokka would towards girls he liked. _Was Aang trying to..._ Then she remembered all of the other small acts of kindness he gave towards her, but no one else. When he would give up food for her. When he got jealous of Jet. She cringed at the name _Jet,_ the monster. Then she looked fondly at the necklace, but noticed a small amount of writing on the back of the flower: _If you feel the same._ She read it again and realized the meaning behind those. She smiled wistfully. _Aang loves me!_

"Aang loves me!" She exclaimed in excitement, not realizing an approaching woman.

"Dear, you shouldn't be out here in this weather." The woman lightly scorned when she approached. Katara jumped, startled by the woman she didn't realize was there, and blushed profusely. She looked the woman over. She was about the same height her mother was, and probably in her mid-thirties. She had long black hair that was tied at the back in a bun. She was also wearing a three quarter length cream dress. Her eyes brown, and sincere.

"It's fine, really. I'm a waterbender." Katara replied trying to sound fine, but she didn't.

"You're shivering, my dear. Come with me. My home is just down the road, and we can get you dried off and something to eat."

"Ok." Katara relented, getting up, but not before tying Aang's necklace to her ankle. She smiled. now that she knew how he felt, and what the necklace meant, Katara would always wear it. She joined the woman on the road and began to walk, holding her hand above her head to bend the rain away.

"That's quite a gift you have there." The woman commented, holding her umbrella and a basket of apples.

Katara smiled. "Thanks. I feel blessed to have this, it's...who I am." Katara sighed.

"May I ask, who are you?" The woman asked, looking Katara over. She noticed Katara's state of dress. Her robes were dirty, and her slightly-above-the-knee length leggings had some singe marks. She also noticed Katara's braid was starting to come unravelled. And...she looked tired, weak, and...desperate.

Katara looked at her. "I'm Katara. And...well I guess you already know I'm a waterender."

The woman chuckled and smiled. "Well, I guess I do. I'm Lin, it's nice to meet you." She paused, pondering something. "We can have a more formal greeting at lunch."

Katara shook her head. "Thank you for the offer, but it's not necessary."

"Nonsense. I can tell you're worn out. And, I want to hear your story." Lin looked at her with a pleading look in her eyes, much like Aang's.

"Ok, I will take up your offer." Katara smiled. "I'm pretty hungry, now that I think about it." She placed a hand on her stomach.

Lin chuckled. "That sounds great. We're almost there."

They continued down the road for a few more paces before coming to a clearing and a small path that led to a quaint home that was roughly the size of Haru's, if Katara's memory served her. As they walked up the path and onto the balcony, Lin folded her umbrella as Katara retreated her hand from its waterbending. Lin opened the door and placed her umbrella in a tall vase to the left. Katara followed her in, noticing the small living room that was connected to the kitchen.

"Momma, you're home!" Katara saw a small boy, about five years old, coming flying around a corner and crash into Lin's legs, hugging them tightly. His green eyes sparkling as they met his mother's.

"I missed you too, honey." Lin laughed and patted the boy's back. "But, don't be rude to our guest." She chided softly. "Introduce yourself."

The boy backed away from his mother and gazed at Katara briefly before speaking. "Hi, I'm Kan." He waved, smiling.

Katara kneeled down to get to his level. "It's nice to meet you, Kan" She smiled and held out her right hand. "My name is Katara." He shook it nervously, but smiled.

"That's a pretty name." The boy burst out. His mother merely chuckled at his naive sincerity.

"Um...thanks." Katara replied nervously, standing up. Kan ran out the back door at the end of the hall in a scurry of excitement. Katara looked at Lin.

"It is a very pretty name." Lin chuckled. "You should get cleaned up. There is a spare bedroom down the hall, last door on the right. And, there's a washroom across the hall from it. _I_ am going to prepare us some lunch, and make sure Kan doesn't come back in covered in mud."

Katara smiled and bowed to her. "I can't thank you enough for your kindness."

Lin waved her hand dismissively. "I do _anything_ to help someone in need.

"Thank you." And with that, Katara slid her boots off, setting them down and making her way down the hall to the spare room. When she walked in, Katara noticed the bed at the opposite wall, a window just above it and a closet to the right. She set her bag and her bedroll in the closet and made her way to the washroom. After she locked the door behind her, she got ready for a quick bath. After her bath, Katara decided not to re-braid her hair and let it fall free behind her. But, she still kept her hair loops, they were just raised higher and followed her hairline from her forehead to just above her ears. **(A/N: Just how she had it at the end of Book 3, during Zuko's coronation, I just have a hard time explaining it in writing.)** Katara got dressed and mad her way back out into the kitchen, where Lin had the dinner table set and Kan sat patiently at the table.

"Ah, just in time. I just finished making lunch. Please, take a seat." Katara did as she was told and took a seat across from Kan at the table. Though, Katara was a little uncomfortable, as Kan was staring at her.

"You're very pretty." Kan stated simply. Katara blushed, though, thankful for the comment.

"Um...thanks, again." Katara stuttered.

"Please excuse my son. I know he's being nice, but he shouldn't stare." Lin shouted from the kitchen. But, by watching Kan's expression change, Lin was giving him the death stare. Katara smiled to herself. Kan was a nice young boy, smart, honest, compassionate, and a little compulsory. _A lot like Sokka,_ Katara thought.

"It's ok. I don't really get compliments like that." Katara replied to Lin's comment to Kan.

"Oh, that can't be true." Lin joked. "We'll talk more when Kan goes to do his chores." Lin smirked at her son as she placed a bowl in front of Katara. Kan merely groaned.

Katara looked down at the bowl in front of her and recognized the familiar smell. Katara was elated and looked to Lin, who sat down at the end of the square table, on Katara's left. "How did you know I loved stewed sea prunes."

"Let's just say, I know my guests." Lin smiled fondly. "Now, let's dig in." With that, they began to eat a healthy lunch. Katara especially enjoyed her stewed sea prunes. Kan and Lin had their own respective dishes that they enjoyed very much. As they finished, they all pushed their dishes away. "Honey," Lin regarded her son. "It's time for you to do your chores."

"But it's raaaaaining." Kan complained.

Lin glared at him, "That didn't stop you from playing out there before." She paused and pointed her finger at him. "Also, little one, it's not raining anymore. So, go on and do your chores. Katara and I have some things to discuss." Kan groaned as he got up and pushed his chair in. Before he left, however, he looked at Katara with a smile.

"Can I show you my earthbending, Katara?" He jumped up and down on his toes.

Katara smiled, "Sure, but only when you are done with your chores." Katara teased and pointed a finger at him tauntingly. Kan smiled and ran out the door to do his chores. Katara watched him leave, and turned to look at Lin. "I'm assuming you're going to ask why a girl my age is out here all alone."

"Yes." Lin shifted in her seat and placed her hands on the table, leaning against it slightly. "No offense, but when I found you, you looked like a mess." Lin finished, looking softly into Katara's eyes.

Katara chuckled with a tinge of self-mocking in her voice. "That's an understatement." Katara sighed and looked down at her lap. "I've been...struggling...with a lot of things."

"What exactly?" Lin pressed.

"I don't really wanna talk about it." Katara stated, turning her head to look away from Lin, being as stubborn as ever.

"Katara..." Lin sighed and leaned back into her chair. "I can tell that there is a lot of turmoil in you. I just want to help, and you struggles are more than likely stemming from you holding everything in." Lin leaned forward again, as Katara looked back at her. Katara's face was no longer written with normalcy, it was written with sadness. "Please, tell me everything."

"Everything?" Katara sniffed.

Lin nodded, "Everything."

Katara sighed. She started from the beginning, from when her and Sokka found Aang, to when they went to the Southern Air Temple, and the first time she ever felt jealous; when Aang spent more time with his fan girls on Kyoshi island than her. Katara told of Aunt Wu's village, of how she was so interested in her fortunes that she didn't realize there was danger. Lin also got to hear of Katara's revelation of Aang being a powerful bender, and that she was supposed to marry one. And then there was when Aang hid the map, even after her and Sokka treated him like garbage, he still fought to save their lives. Katara continued on for another hour, from meeting Jeong Jeong to North Pole. Lin nodded and listened intently, soaking in every bit of her amazing story.

And then, she got to the part she didn't want to get to; getting separated from Aang. How Katara had been so upset about losing him, that she went into a mental breakdown. Sokka and Toph said her hallucination was bad, but she couldn't remember it. From then to getting to Omashu, and then her visions in the swamp. She also explained their encounter with Azula and how hurt she got fighting her, resulting in her singed and shortened blue leggings. Finally, she told of the incident at the library, as well as the events leading up to it, and her mood swings. Katara also told Lin of her frustrations with Sokka not wanting to find Aang as fast as she wanted to, which led to her leaving him and Toph, bringing her right where she was now. Telling her entire story.

When Katara finished, she let out a huge sigh of relief, and felt a huge weight being lifted off her chest. Lin gave her a few minutes to compose herself before she spoke. "You and your friends are amazing people." Lin spoke softly. "But, please don't give into your despair. You're a strong, young woman, Katara. You've been through a lot." She sighed, "I don't want to let you go out there alone, but I believe you're strong enough, and that you need to do what _you_ believe is right."

Katara looked to Lin and smiled, "Thank you for making me talk. I feel much better."

Lin smiled, "Can I ask you something?" Katara nodded. "When I found you, what did you say?"

Katara blushed and looked away, "I thought you heard that, already." Katara muttered.

"I did, but _you_ need to say it again." Lin replied.

Katara looked back to her, confused. "Why?"

"To use it as a way to give yourself drive. You must let love guide you, and I'm sure, he is doing the same thing."

Katara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Aang loves me." She whispered. "Aang loves me." Again, "Aang loves me!" She smiled and looked down at his necklace in her hands. She had taken it off of her ankle to show Lin, and never put it back on. "I love you, Aang. I _will_ find you." Katara smiled and looked to Lin, who was smiling back.

"Let that carry you, and never give up hope. Stay strong, Katara. You are an amazing young woman, and you're a fighter." Lin paused and chuckled, "But...I do believe you promised to watch my son earthbend." Lin smiled, ending on a lighter note.

As if on cue, Kan came running into the kitchen, latching onto Katara's arm, tugging it for her to follow. "Come on, Katara." He tugged again.

"Go on outside. I'll be out there in a minute." She smiled, and looked to Lin. "I have one more thing to talk to your mother about." Lin gave Katara and odd look, wondering what she was going at.

"Ok, but hurry up. I've been practicing." He let go and ran back outside.

Once he was gone, Katara turned back to Lin, "You have a very good son."

Lin smiled fondly at the door Kan just ran out of. "He is." She sighed sadly. "He's just like his father."

"Not to be rude, but that's what I wanted to talk to you about...where is his father?" Katara asked softly.

"Lin looked down into her lap. "He's off fighting in the war. It's been tough, but I've been staying strong, for his sake." She looked up to Katara again. "He's going to miss you, you know."

"I'll miss him too. Both of you." Katara paused and reached out to softly grasp Lin's hands. "I understand the situation about his father." Katara leaned back into her chair, letting go of Lin's hands, and looked down at her hands. "My dad is off fighting too, so I know how you two feel."

Lin smiled sadly. "Will you come back and visit when this is all over?"

Katara smiled, "I will. I promise."

"Thank you." Lin choked slightly.

After a few moments of silence, Katara spoke. "I think Kan has been waiting long enough." Katara stated softly before getting up to go outside with Kan.

"You will stay the night, won't you?" Lin asked softly.

Katara turned around and smiled, "Of course." And continued to walk towards the door.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Katara, watch this!" Kan yelled as Katara came out the door. He stomped the ground, causing a small pillar of earth, about half his height, to shoot out of the earth. Kan then punched the side, sending a disk, about three inches thick, across the backyard, passed a small fountain in front of her, over a stream, and into a tree where it shattered. He turned and looked at Katara expectantly.

Katara smiled, walking down the stone steps and onto the soft grass. "Very impressive, Kan. But, you need a sturdier stance." Katara informed.

"But, you're not an earthbender." He regarded her with a cocked head.

"No, I'm not. I'm a waterbender, and a close friend of mine is a master earthbender." Katara kneeled down to his eye-level, placing a soft hand on his left shoulder. "I'll let you in on a little secret: all bending requires a strong stance to begin. Try widening it a little, and squatting down lower." She smiled.

Kan nodded, "Ok, I'll try." He backed away from her and turned away from her, taking the same stance as before, but applying her suggestions. He did the same move and was stunned to see the disk fly twice as fast. "WOW!" He turned around, jumping up and down. "I did it! I did it!" He ran towards her, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" He said rapidly.

Katara chuckled, returning the embrace. "You're welcome."

"Can you show me some waterbending?" Kan asked, jumping up and down in a fit of excitement after pulling away from Katara.

Katara smiled and stood up. "I'd love too." She motioned for some water to come out of the fountain and to her hand. She held a small ball of water above her right hand as Kan watched in amazement. Spurred on by _his_ happiness, she continued by taking more water under her control. She now held two long streams in her hands, twirling them around herself as she spun. In that moment, it was just her and her element; lost in inner bliss. She brought more water around her, spinning it into a whirlpool around her, and above her. Kan awed in amazement at her demonstration of power and grace. Katara guided the water back into the fountain. Taking a deep breath, Katara opened her eyes to see an awestruck Kan.

"That...WAS SO COOL!" Kan yelled. "What else can you do?"

"Hmm..." Katara hummed. Her face lit up at an idea, "Have you ever seen snow or ice?"

Kan's eyes widened in realization. "No...you can do that?" He gasped. Katara smiled, and without saying a word, gathered water from the fountain and the nearby stream into an enormous ball of water above her. She pushed it into the air, all the while freezing the water particles into little flakes of snow that softly fell to the ground. Katara watched through the snowflakes at the gleam of amazement in Kan's eyes. He watched up in amazement as snow fell around him. He watched until it stopped falling, at which point, the whole yard was covered in three inches of snow. Kan looked at Katara with an expression of amazed excitement before he fell back into the snow, taking in the new sensation.

Katara smiled, knowing what she had just done for him. _She_ had changed his life in one of the most simple, but also not so simple, way. She closed her eyes and fell back into the snow, feeling the sensation she hasn't felt in months. Thinking of fond memories, of friends, of loved ones. That is until a ball of snow slammed into her face. She sat up and saw Kan standing there, a smirk on his face and a snowball in his hand.

"You _did not_ just start a snowball fight with a waterbender." His smirk fell as he began to run, but a wall of snow rose up and blocked his path. He turned around to meet four snowballs at once. Kan wiped the snow off his face, and spat out what got in his mouth.

"No fair!"

"You started it." Katara smirked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I-we-bu-no bending." Kan stuttered, having no response. _He_ did start it.

"Ok, but remember, you're facing someone more experienced than you." With that, the fight continued. Both of them tossing snowballs at each other, but it soon turned to one of them trying to hit the other while they ran away. They continued until they heard the back door being fiddled with; Lin was coming outside. Kan put his index finger over his lips as a command to quiet Katara. She nodded as Kan prepared a snowball.

Lin stepped through the door, and was met by a snowball and a fit of laughter from the two people in front of her. She was surprised, to say the least, but took it in stride. After spitting and sputtering, Lin spoke, "I see you two are enjoying yourselves, and where did the snow come from?"

"Katara made it." Kan ran up to Lin. "She's amazing, Mama!"

Lin looked over to Katara, who was smiling fondly at her new friends. "It truly _is_ amazing." She hugged Kan. "But, I'm afraid it's time for dinner."

"Awwww..." Kan moaned.

"Don't worry, you two can play later." Lin motioned for the two to come inside. Katara and Kan followed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After dinner and another snowball fight, Katara decided to call it a night. She washed up, and got ready for bed. She got into her night clothes, which was just her bindings now that it was starting to warm up outside. Katara walked over to her bed and sat on the edge. She sat in silent thought before hearing a soft knock on her door.

"Who is it?" Katara shouted.

"It's me." Lin's voice pierced the thin door into the room.

Katara smiled. "Come in." The door slowly opened, revealing Lin in her own night gown.

"I wanted to say goodnight." She paused. "I wanted to thank you for doing that for Kan. He...he really needed it."

"It was a lot of fun for me to finally let out like that. And, you're welcome."

"I also came to tell you the best way to get to Ba Sing Se. There is a secret ferry a little over a day's walk from here. It will take you directly to Ba Sing Se, but I recommend you camp tomorrow night before you go there." Lin smiled sadly.

"Thank you." Katara smiled.

"I should probably let you rest. You have a long journey ahead of you." LIn finished before leaving Katara alone in her room. Katara sat for a moment before laying on her side, and pulling the blanket up to her shoulders. She fell asleep with a smile that night; a true genuine smile of hope, and happiness.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Morning came, and so did the day Katara had to leave. Kan was upset, as he just found out this morning that she was leaving. Breakfast was quiet, because no one wanted Katara to leave, including herself. But, she had a mission to complete. Katara packed up slowly after breakfast, but it still didn't take that long; she didn't bring much. She tied Aang's necklace around her wrist this time, because it was easier for her to see. She walked out of her room and down the hall, meeting Lin and Kan by the door. Lin opened the door for Kan and Katara, and followed after. Katara turned around to bid farewell, but was met by two pairs of sad eyes.

"Katara, I wish you the best of luck in finding Aang. I also want you to have this." Lin handed Katara a coin purse. "There's fifty gold pieces in there, and before you protest, consider this a gift from a friend. Also, the ferry ticket is fairly expensive, so you need this more than me."

"Thank you." Katara gasped.

"Katara..." Kan whispered sadly. "Wi-Will you come back?" He asked, choking back sobs.

Katara knelt down and smiled, "Of course I will." She opened her arms for a hug.

Kan embraced Katara, holding on tight like she was something he could never lose. "I-I-I'll miss you." A muffled whisper came out as his face was buried into her neck.

"I-I'll miss you too." Katara fought to hold back tears of her own as she rubbed his back. After a few moments, she pulled away and stood up. Katara regarded Lin. "I guess this is goodbye." Katara whispered.

"I guess it is." Lin replied softly.

Katara pulled her into a hug. "Thank you, for everything." She spoke in a soft tone.

"You're welcome, Katara."

Katara smiled sadly, turning around and walking down the steps to the road. "Bye, Katara!" Kan yelled from the porch.

Katara peeked over her shoulder, not breaking stride. "Goodbye." She continued to the road, where she turned right to head to her destination: The ferry, and hopefully, Aang.

 **A/N: I hope you guys liked part 1. Part 2 will be up soon, I don't know when specifically. Also, I hoped you liked Kan and Lin, it was my first attempt at original characters. Again, thanks to my readers and followers for being awesome. Please review.**


	11. Chapter 11: Katara Alone Part II

**Summary: Sorry for the wait on this one. College has been busy, but I write when I can. I also want to let all my readers know that my other stories are being worked on. Also,** ** _Mixed Emotions_** **is not dead. I had a major writer's block, and then when I overcame it and was close to finishing, the word document somehow disappeared.**

 **We're getting close here, folks. But remember, I am going to continue this story through book 3 and afterward for as long as I can. Anyhow, on with the story.**

Chapter 11: Katara Alone Part 2:

Katara had travelled for the rest of the day and was now camping a couple hour's walk from the ferry to Ba Sing Se, as Lin instructed. After struggling to hold back tears as she left her new friends, or possibly family, Katara had an enjoyable trek. She had time to think about everything. At this point, Katara figured she wouldn't be able to find Aang on her own, no matter how hard she tried. She had limited supplies, little time, and no information on his whereabouts, except Bumi promised to send him to Ba Sing Se. This trip originally had a dual purpose: finding Aang and sorting out her feelings. The former now seemed far-fetched, but the latter was a success. Her conversation with Lin had helped her realize her true feelings for the airbender, and playing with Kan had lightened her mood and showed her all the joy still left in this war-ravaged world.

She loved Aang. Katara knew that. And although all the evidence pointed to Aang _at least_ having a crush on her, Katara had her doubts. She longed for the day she would reunite with him again, but she didn't know what she would do when she saw him. She just didn't know. _A hug, a kiss_...She pushed the last word out of her thoughts. _That_ was too forward, no matter how badly she wanted to. For now, it was time to focus on meeting Sokka and Toph in Ba Sing Se.

Katara decided to turn in for the night. Clear, happy thoughts filled her mind as she dosed off to sleep, awaiting the next day's travel.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Katara awoke early, eager to get to the ferry and on her way. She packed up her belongings and headed for the ferry.

She was told by Lin that the ferry was hidden away in the mountain so the Fire Nation could not find it. Although, the ferry could be very expensive and that is why Lin gave Katara the money she did. And although Katara had had come to the conclusion that searching for Aang on her own would not only be difficult, but extremely dangerous; she had decided that she would wait until the last ferry to leave, just in case Aang would use the ferry to get to Ba Sing Se.

Katara continued on the path to the ferry for another half an hour before finally arriving at the entrance. She was astonished at the sight. An enormous underground compound, obviously created by earthbenders, protected this gateway to safety. Katara saw thousands of refugees and hundreds of guards.

Katara headed for one of the ticket lines and bought a ticket for the last ferry, which would leave in a few hours. After buying her ticket, Katara found a nearby bench to wait, and even look for Aang in case he was there. Katara found herself to hate all of Aang's fans, for she kept seeing stupid Avatar impersonators that got her hopes up. Everytime she spotted one, her heart would flutter before the shattering reality would hit. They weren't him.

She was shaken from her thoughts by a eerily deep voice."What's a pretty little lady doing all by herself?" Katara turned to see an eighteen year old boy with long black hair and brown eyes. He was looking her over.

"Thanks for the _compliment,_ but the rest is none of your business." Katara snapped back and looked away from him.

The boy slid next to her on the bench, snuggling close. "I just want a good conversation."

"I will give you ten seconds to leave or you'll regret it." Katara snapped again, reaching for the cap of her water skin. The boy attempted to wrap his arms around her, but that was a mistake. He was met by a water-whip to the face and was knocked back. Katara stood over him. "I. Warned. You."

The boy jumped to his feet after he regained his composure and lunged for Katara, but before he, or Katara could strike a blow, the man was grabbed by the arm. Both he, and Katara looked at the one her intervened. They saw a teenage girl with short auburn hair and slightly pale skin.

"That is enough!" The girl commanded.

"And what are _you_ going to do."

The girl smirked. "This." She then proceeded to pin his arm behind his back and oinned him to the ground, causing him to yell in pain. "Now leave." The boy stood up and ran away, fearful of the two, very strong girls.

"Sorry about that, Katara." The girl apologized.

"Do I know you?" Katara asked, tilting her head.

"Oh, sorry. You probably don't recognize me without the face paint."

"Suki?"

"That's me." Suki replied and was greeted by a hug.

"It's so good to see you again." Katara pulled away. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you."

Katara sighed, "It's...it's a long story."

"I've got time. I'm one of the guards here, and other than the incident we just had, I haven't had anything to do in two days."

"Are the other warriors here?"

"Yes. After you guys came through, the warriors and I decided we help with the war." Suki smiled with her reply.

"So you became guards?"

"Eh, you do what they tell you." Suki shrugged. "But, let's talk about why you're here alone."

Katara sat down on the bench she was previously sitting on, as did Suki, and proceeded to tell her everything. She told her of becoming separated from Aang, to going out on her own to search for him and figure out exactly what he means to her. Suki took it all in, but Katara didn't exactly go into great detail because of all the other times she had to explain.

"Are you sure Aang is coming to Ba Sing Se?"

Katara sighed. "Not entirely. We figured he would head to Omashu if he escaped from the Fire Nation soldiers, which he is pretty good at." Katara chuckled. "But we had to flee from Omashu, and as we were leaving, King Bumi assured us that he would send Aang this way."

Suki took everything in and then asked something she hoped wouldn't be too much. "And...if he doesn't get here?"

Katara turned to look Suki in the eyes. A burning determination pierced into Suki's eyes. "Then I won't stop until I find him."

Suki nodded, taking in the determination set forward and wondered exactly what was driving Katara so much. "So, how exactly do you feel about Aang?"

"Well...I think I love him, more than a friend or family. He has made such a difference in my life. He's such an amazing person, and it took all this to make me realize my actual feelings for him."

Suki nodded. "I think it goes back even farther." She smirked.

Katara raised an eyebrow in confused fascination "What do you mean?"

Suki's grin grew wider. "What about what happened with those fan-girls?"

"Ugh, you don't need to remind me." Katara cringed at the reminder.

"So, I take it I'm right." Suki chuckled, crossing her arms and leaning back into the bench.

Katara blushed slightly; she had thought about what happened on Kyoshi before, and if she had feelings back then."Maybe. I don't know what happened there."

"A bunch of girls fell for Aang and you were jealous." Katara looked at her incredulously."Hey, the writing was on the wall that you felt something for him."

Katara gave a nervous chuckle and brushed her hair back. "I guess so."

"I like what you've done with your hair." Suki quickly changed the subject after noticing Katara's hair, which was now let out with smaller hair loops along her hairline.

"Thanks." Katara replied, a little taken back by the quick change of subject. She was wrong.

"Aang will like it." Suki stated in a sing-song voice.

"Can we get of the 'Aang' subject please?" Katara emphasized. She loved him, that much was true, but she didn't want to obsess over him.

Suki laughed. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself. So, how's Sokka doing?"

"Good, I guess, he's been really worried about me lately, and now with me running off, I doubt it's gotten better."

"So is he on his way to Ba Sing Se then?" Suki asked.

"He actually should be there by now. He took Appa with Toph; I told them I'd meet them there."

"Toph?" Suki raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, she's Aang's earthbending teacher." Katara looked at Suki. Shou couldn't believe she forget Toph. Who could forget about Toph?

"She?" Suki was now even more curious.

"Yeah, she." Katara replied, a little suspicious of Suki.

"So Sokka's traveling alone, with a girl?" Suki asked, slightly irritated.

"Yes. What's wrong with tha-" Katara's eyes grew wide in shock. "No way." She gasped.

"What?" Suki moved away from Katara slightly.

"You and Sokka." She pointed at Suki before smiling.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Suki crossed her arms, crossed her legs and looked away.

"The writing's on the wall, Suki." Katara sang.

Suki stuck her tongue out at Katara. "Fine, I like him."

"I think it's more than that." Katara pressed

Suki looked away defiantly again. "I...kind of kissed him on the cheek."

"That explains why he was all blushy when he got on Appa." Katara looked off in the distance in thought.

"I'm glad I did that to him. He's got such an ego."

"Tell me about it."

After a long moment of silence, and thought, Suki spoke up. "Hey, would you mind if I tagged along with you on the ferry to Ba Sing Se? There's not much going on here, and I have a feeling you could use the company."

"I'd like that. Thank you." Suki nodded and Katara smiled. "I'm sure my brother would like it too."

"Oh shut up!" Suki playfully spat.

"Ok, fine."

"But if you and Aang become a couple," Katara blushed fiercly as Suki smiled. "I want every detail when we see each other again."

Katara shook her head in tired disbelief at Suki's insistence with Aang. "My ferry leaves in about half an hour, so we probably should get on."

"Sounds like a plan. Let me go get my stuff and let the girls know where I'm going." Suki informed Katara as she walked away.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Katara waited by the ferry dock for about ten minutes before Suki came up. Suki had packed her Kyoshi Warrior uniform and fans. Suki informed Katara that she could go as long as she "acted" as a "guard" onboard the ferry. Katara chuckled at Suki's sarcasm. The two girls well knew that Suki would not do that. At any rate, they boarded the ferry and awaited it to cast off.

With one last, hopeful look over her shoulder, Katara walked up the ramp up to the ferry. Katara was disappointed that she didn't see Aang, but was hopeful that, soon, she would see him again. And if not, she would search the world for as long as it takes to find him.

The two girls sat near the bow of the ferry that carried them across the vast expanse of water and to the great city of Ba Sing Se. Katara and Suki began to eat the meals provided to them by the ship's crew. They ate in peace for a brief period before that peace was shattered by an all too familiar and cocky voice.

"Well, what have we here?" The voice rang. Katara turned around to see the rugged teenager and his two companions. Her eyes flared in anger at the sight. As she clenched her fists, the whole boat shuttered, frightening everybody, including Suki, who had never seen this side of Katara. Katara motioned her arm in a powerful, bring water from below over the railing and at the boy. He didn't have a chance to react as he found himself frozen to the main cabin of the ferry. She walked close to him as his friends backed away. Water encircled Katara's right arm as she held it in position for another attack.

"What are you doing here?!" Katar yelled, causing everyone within sight to look at the commotion.

"I could ask the same." He replied.

"Shut up! I'm the one asking the questions!" Katara shoved his head into the wall.

"We're starting over. _I'm_ starting over." The boy pleaded.

"And why should I believe you?!" Katara asked, disgusted with the boy in front of him.

"Because I've changed, Katara." He pleaded once more.

"I will never believe you after you betrayed us, Jet."

"He really is trying to change, Katara." Smellerbee pleaded.

Katara felt an arm on her shoulder. It was Suki. "Katara, I don't know what he did to you, but give him a chance to explain."

"Please, Katara." Jet pleaded once more. Katara replied by half looking up at him with a death glare before walking away. As she did so, Katara pushed her arms down, turning all the ice that encased Jet to water as he collapsed onto the deck.

Katara leaned on the railing, looking forward of the bow. "Now, explain yourself before I throw you off this boat." She growled.

"I know what I did before was wrong, but I've changed." Jet continued to plead his case.

"And how am I supposed to believe that?!"

"I don't expect you too, but I'm willing to try."

"Why? So you can betray me again." Jet didn't have an answer for that. All he could do was open and close his mouth like an idiot as he tried to say something. "I trusted you. You had me sold. _I_ stood by _you_ when Sokka said you were lying." Katara grunted in frustration. "You used your 'charm' to get me. But I will never let that happen again."

"Katara I-I'm sorry. After what you said to me when you left, I realized I needed to change. Longshot and Smellerbee came along to help me, so I wouldn't go back to what I was."

"It's true, Katara."

Katara walked up to Jet, jabbing her finger into his chest. "I can't deny that you are being honest, but I will never forget what you did. You betrayed me. You hurt Aang. And you tried to kill my brother. So, if you would so kindly get out of my sight and never show your face to me again, I would be delighted."

"But, Katara."

Katara turned back and leaned on the railing. "No. Just leave. I have enough problems as it is right now."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't...feel sorry for me."Katara sighed. "Just leave, and once we're off this boat, I don't want to see you ever again." Katara slouched and looked down at the crystal blue below her.

"Okay. Goodbye, Katara." Jet sighed and began to walk towards the stern with Longshot and Smellerbee before stopping and looking over his shoulder in Katara's direction. "And Katara. I'm sorry about Aang." Katara perked up when he said that. _How does he..._ Katara turned around to ask, but Jet was already out of sight, and she did not want to chase after _him_.

"Are you okay, Katara?" Asked Suki.

"I'll be fine." Katara turned back to the railing.

"Who was that?"

"Someone I used to think was a hero."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The sun was setting over the sea as the ferry approached the dock. Golden rays illuminated the water as Katara and Suki prepared to depart the ship. Katara and Suki had not said much to each other since the confrontation with Jet. Suki felt awkward about the whole situation, partly due to the fact that there was history she didn't know and that Katara was acting a little uncomfortable afterwards.

After the ferry had docked, the crew helped secure the ramp for the passengers to depart. Katara was grateful she hadn't seen Jet again as her and Suki walked down the ramp. The encounter brought up too many emotions. Anger. Betrayal. Sadness. And a broken heart. Though at the time Katara thought her feelings for the freedom fighter were the first sign of love, she came to realize it was a stupid crush on a person who was too good to be true. _He_ didn't care about her: Not how she felt, or liked. He would never be there for her when she needed it the most. Aang, on the other hand, would. He always was, from the very beginning.

"Well we're almost there." Katara was shaken from her thoughts by Suki's cheer.

Katara sighed."Yeah." Even though she was nearing the end of her journey and would get to see Sokka and Toph again, Katara would not be complete until Aang was back. Her plan was to search the city the next day for him, and the day after that, and the day after that. She wouldn't stop until she found him, or...he found her.

"I thought you'd be more excited."

"I am...it's just, it might be a long time before I get to see Aang again." Katara looked down solemnly.

"Don't worry. You two will be together in no time." Suki affirmed in a sing-song voice.

"You're not going to stop, are you?"

"Not until it's reality, no."

"Can you please not tell Sokka about my me and Aang. I don't want him involved."

"I understand."

"Thanks, Suki. Now, let's get into the city."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After a short ride onto the train into Ba Sing Se, Katara and Suki arrived in the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se. They exited the train and was greeted by a very creepy woman.

"Hello, I'm Joo Dee. Welcome to Ba Sing Se." Her smile never wavering.

"Uh...hello." Katara hesitated, feeling very weird about the woman in front of her.

"You must be Katara. We've been expecting you."

"You have?" Katara questioned.

"Yes. You're brother and friend arrived a few days ago. I was told to wait here until you arrived by my superiors." Joo Dee explained.

"How long have you been waiting here?" Suki asked. Given the fact that no one knew when they would arrive, She wondered how long Joo Dee had been there.

"Four days." Joo Dee replied, continuing her smile. Katara and Suki looked at each other, silently agreeing that this place was weird.

"Okay, can you take us there?" Katara asked.

"Of course. Follow me." Joo Dee walked off, leading the two girls to a carriage. Joo Dee opened the door for the two passengers and followed them inside. Joo Dee took a seat. "You're brother and friend are staying in the in the Upper Ring, where our politicians and upper class citizens live."

"Why are they staying there?"

"We know you are friends of the Avatar and understand the situation you are in. We want nothing but to provide the best for the Avatar and his friends. I am sure you will be very comfortable until the Avatar returns to you."

"Thank you for all this." Katara bowed.

"Oh, you're welcome." Joo Dee replied.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"This is it. Enjoy your stay." Joo Dee bid farewell.

"Thank you." Both girls chimed in reply as they began to walk to the door of the house.

"Is it just me, or is she too nice and perfect?" Suki asked.

"Yeah, something is definitely off here." Katara expressed her thoughts.

"Well, I'm glad I don't have to stay too long." Suki stated as they approached the door. Katara knocked a little hesitantly. She didn't know if Sokka would be excited to see her again and play off her 'running away,' or if he would be furious with her. She was broken from her thoughts as the door creaked open.

Sokka's face appeared in the doorway, but before Katara could say anything, she was crushed by a hug.

"I'm so glad you're all right Katara?" Sokka pulled away and looked at Suki. "Who's your friend?" Katara broke out laughing, her face turning beat red as Toph approached the door.

"You've got to be kidding me?!" Suki questioned angrily.

"No, I'm not." Sokka replied.

"Then maybe this will remind you." Suki leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

Sokka blushed furiously. "Suki?!"

"Yeah, it's me ." She replied sternly. Katara was now coming down from her laughter. Toph punched her shoulder, a silent way of saying "good to see you again."

"Uh...sorry. I didn't recognize you without the face paint. Please, don't be mad at me."

"It's okay. Katara did the same thing."

"Okay. Glad I'm not the only one." Sokka sighed. " If it's okay, Katara, can you tell me what happened?"

"If it's all the same with you, I'd rather not. Suki can tell you about us, but It's been a long few days and I'd like to get some rest."

"I understand."

"Thanks, Sokka." Katara gave him a hug before walking inside. Toph followed to show her to her room.

Katara followed Toph to her room. "There's two bed's in here, so this is where we stay." Toph explained.

"Thanks, Toph."

"It's good to have you back, Sugar Queen."

Katara chuckled. "I almost forgot about the nicknames."

"Well, my job is to make sure you don't forget." Toph exclaimed poking her thumb into her chest as she left the room.

Katara dropped her bag at the door, not even bothering to put her stuff away for she was too exhausted. She slipped her shoes off and collapsed on the bed, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

 **A/N: I hoped you liked this chapter. There was a lot more dialogue then I had planned, but it was necessary for this chapter. It took a while to write with the amount of time I had.**

 **Next Chapter: Arrival**


	12. Chapter 12: Arrival

**Summary: Honestly, not much of a summary here. But, we're almost there. Thanks for reading, thanks to all you loyal followers. And please review.**

Chapter 12: Arrival

It was a peaceful morning. The quiet was relaxing to everyone who was there, and they were at all nearly at peace. Sokka and Suki were enjoying being with each other after a long conversation the night before about where things stood. Sokka told Suki about Yue, but the two of them managed to sort things out despite the situation that sat in front of them: Aang was missing, and Katara was not herself.

"So, how'ya doin?" Sokka asked, leaning forward over the kitchen counter towards Suki.

"Sokka, I told you; you don't need to act like this around me. I like you for who you are." She replied warmly. She didn't understand why Sokka decided to try and...flirt. Or whatever it was he was doing.

Sokka blushed. "Maybe I'm just being stupid."

"YAY! He _finally_ admitted it!" Toph hollered in excitement as she too walked into the kitchen.

Sokka hit his palm on his forehead. "Why did I say that?"

"Great question, Snoozles." Toph replied with a bit of sarcasm.

"Snoozles?"Suki asked, slightly tilting her head in confusion.

"Toph gives everyone a nickname." Sokka explained, looking back to Suki.

"What's mine?" Asked Suki.

"Eh. I haven't thought of one yet." Toph shrugged as she found a stool near the counter and sat on it.

Suki nodded. "Well, I need to get going soon. Is Katara up? I want to talk to her."

"Sugarqueen is getting dressed. I think." Toph gestured towards the hallway to her and Katara's room.

"Do you have to leave already?" Sokka turned to her with a questioning look in his eyes.

"Sorry. Duty calls, for both of us." Suki replied, hinting to Sokka with some seriousness.

"Huh?" Sokka scratched his head.

"I have to get back to the ferry docks and you, mister..." Suki poked Sokka in the chest. "...have an Avatar to find."

"Oh...yeah." Sokka mumbled in defeat. Suki began to walk down the hall to check on Katara before Sokka stopped her. "Did Katara say anything about Aang?" Toph perked up, surprised at how well Sokka had been paying attention to everything.

Suki froze. She had hoped Sokka wouldn't ask something like that. It was hard for her lie to him. She swallowed hard and acted like she didn't know what he was talking about. "Huh?" She turned around to face him, but her heart was speeding up. She had promised Katara she wouldn't say anything.

"Did Katara tell you how she feels about Aang?" He crossed his arms, determined to get a straight answer.

Suki steeled herself and replied. "She misses him, and she's worried that he might be hurt or captured." She felt she put on a good display, but Toph could sense her heartbeat and apprehension, but didn't say a word.

Sokka raised an eyebrow and Suki continued. "Sokka, how would you feel if your best friend suddenly disappears and you haven't seen him for two months?"

Sokka didn't know how to respond to that. He wasn't sure of what Katara's feelings were towards Aang. Maybe her feelings were just ones of desperation, clinging onto everything she had left of her friend: hope that she will see him again. "Sorry. I shouldn't have pressed. She just seems...off."

"I understand. She's your sister, after all. You're just looking out for her." Suki smiled. "I'm just going to say goodbye to her real quick."

"Okay." Sokka replied.

Suki continued to walk down the hall to Katara's door. She knocked on the door and leaned against its frame, waiting for an answer.

"Who is it?" Katara's voice rang from behind the closed door.

"Suki."

"Come in." Katara replied.

Suki pushed the door open and stepped inside. She saw Katara sitting on the edge of the bed, writing in a small book. Katara closed it and looked up to where Suki was standing. Suki also took note at how Katara decided to keep her hair down. "What's up?" Katara asked.

"I'm leaving. Thought I'd come say goodbye." Suki walked in and leaned against a nearby shelf, crossing her arms.

"Why do I have a feeling that's not all?" Katara chuckled a little in frustration at Suki's persistence.

"Because you're right." Suki replied with a smirk. "Listen, Sokka just asked me about your feelings towards Aang."

'You didn't tell him! Did you?!" Katara panicked, standing up quickly.

Suki grabbed Katara's shoulders to stop her. "Calm down. I-" Suki was cut off by a knock at the door. Both her and Katara shared a look of fear. They could of sworn it was Sokka.

"Uh...who is it?" Katara asked shakily.

"Calm down Sugarwueen. Your heartbeat is giving me a massive headache." Toph threw the door open and entered. She crossed her arms. "I think this is a conversation I should be a part of too."

"Why?"

"Because, believe it or not, I'm a girl too." Toph gestured towards herself again. "Also, I'm your best bet at keeping this from Sokka."

"How'd you know about all this?" Suki asked.

"I've known that Aang and Katara have had the hots for each other for a while now." Katara blushed at the statement. "They're both just too afraid to admit it to each other."

"That brings me to the other thing I wanted to talk about." Suki added. "As soon as you can, you need to tell Aang how you truly feel when you see him."

"Seriously, Sugarqueen. I'm sick and tired of your heart going crazy every time he is brought up. Like now." Toph added.

"Okay. I'll do it. But for now, can you give me some space?" Katara whispered.

"Sure thing." Suki replied, following Toph out the door. "Bye, Katara."

Suki and Toph walked down the hall a little ways before Toph turned around, stopping Suki. "And you, Princess, need to stop being so mushy with Mister Boomerang over there."

"Princess?" Suki asked.

"Yeah. I decided on a name. Now, stop being all mushy with Sokka around me." Toph demanded.

"Okay, fine." Suki looked around and noticed Sokka had left. "So...do you think she'll do it?"

"If she doesn't, I'll make sure Aang does." Toph voiced confidently.

"You know we can't hide this from Sokka forever." Suki added. "He's smarter then he looks sometimes."

"Yeah, but we can delay it as long as possible." Toph sat down in the living room and continued. "With what Katara's been through, she deserves something only Aang can give her."

"Love." Suki mumbled.

"Exactly." Toph stated.

"I see. Well, it's been nice meeting you Toph. I probably should go say goodbye to Sokka. Wherever he is." Suki muttered.

"That is why you're Princess. You're too proper." Toph waved her off.

"Uh...okay." Suki replied hesitantly. She had no idea how to respond to Toph. She was an intriguing girl. "Bye."

"See ya."

Suki eventually found Sokka walking back to the house. "I'm leaving now. Just wanted to say goodbye."

"I'll never forget your last goodbye."

Suki blushed. "Oh...that." She gave Sokka a shy smile. "How 'bout a better one." She leaned in and gave him a small peck on the lips. Sokka blushed furiously.

"I guess that is better. So, see you later then?" It came out as a question, though Sokka didn't mean it that way.

Suki smiled. "Of course." She paused in a moment of thought. "Give Katara some space, okay?"

"Will do. I just don't like seeing her like this. It just makes me want to know exactly what's wrong." Sokka looked down, saddened.

"You know exactly what's wrong." Suki crossed her arms in frustration towards Sokka's resistance to let _it_ go.

"I think there's more to it though." Sokka mused.

"There isn't. Trust me." Suki lied rather convincingly.

"Okay." Sokka replied, downcast. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, but don't worry, we'll see each other soon." Suki reassured him.

"Okay. Bye."

"Goodbye." And with that, they bid farewell and Suki was on her way.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Are we almost there, Uncle?"

"Patience, Zuko. We are getting close." Iroh replied. It was early afternoon and the three travelers were getting close to the ferry docks. Zuko was getting impatient, and Aang...well...he was anxious: he wanted so badly to see his friends again, to see Katara again, that he often went from highly talkative to a strange reservation. He was obviously thinking about something during those times. Iroh decided to ask what was wrong. "You seem troubled, Aang." Iroh looked down at the young man to his right and then back up. "We are getting close to your friends. You should be ecstatic."

Aang sighed. "I am...but...I don't know how I'm going to explain all this to them." Aang gestured all around him as he remained looking down at the dirt in front of him as he walked.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think they'll like hearing I've been travelling with you two." Aang looked straight ahead as he walked. "For all they know, you captured me. And...after the North Pole, I don't think Zuko would fare too well being introduced to Katara."

"Please don't let her kill me. She already froze me in a block of ice before." Zuko pleaded in a joking, yet somewhat serious tone.

"She's not a killer. I don't think she'll ever, ever do such a thing. But, she holds grudges, and you're the worst of them all, in her mind."

"Do...do you know what I'm in for." Zuko asked nervously.

"I honestly don't know. She attacked a guy named Jet after he betrayed her trust. But with you, she hates you, honestly." Aang paused to think for a moment. "You chased us from pole to pole, you kidnapped me at the North Pole, and what the Fire Nation has done to her family. She believes all Fire Nation citizens are the same as the soldiers."

"What happened to her family?" Zuko asked.

"Her mother was killed a Fire Nation raid when she was a kid, and the war forced her father away from home. All she has left is Sokka and her grandmother."

"And you." Iroh added, causing a blush to rise on Aang's face.

"Sounds a lot like me." Zuko mused. "A mother taken away, and a father at war...well mine's different." He corrected, knowing all too well what his own father has caused.

"Well, hopefully that will get you extra points." Aang joked.

"Uh...yeah." Zuko grumbled.

"It appears we have arrived." Iroh interrupted. They stood before massive stone gates that opened up when the three travelers arrived and the guards recognized the _true_ avatar when Aang gave them a brief airbending demonstration to prove that fact to them.

The three of them walked in and took note at the enormous size of the cavern and the crowds of people. Aang, Iroh and Zuko walked forward to a counter to gain admittance.

"Greetings. We are here for the ferry."

"Tickets please." The woman grouched. Iroh handed over the tickets.

"Mr. Lee, Mr. Kuzon..." Aang had decided to use a cover name and hat while at the ferry port in order to be inconspicuous. "And...Mushy."

"It's pronounced 'Mushi.'" Iroh corrected.

"You telling me how to do my job?" She replied, annoyed.

Iroh approached the ticket counter, "Oh, no, no, no. But may I say, you're like a flower in bloom. Your beauty is intoxicating." Iroh replied with a sincere smile. Zuko smacked his palm on his face and Aang stifled a chuckle.

"You're pretty easy on the eyes yourself handsome." She flirted in reply and then purred. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se." She stamped the tickets and then handed them to Iroh.

"I'm going to forget I ever saw that." Zuko grumbled and snatched his ticket from Iroh.

"I thought it was pretty funny." Aang chuckled.

"Oooh." Iroh awed. "They have a tea stand." Zuko shook his head. "Zuko, come with me. I hope they have jasmine tea." Iroh grabbed Zuko and drug him to the tea cart.

"I'll find us a bench to wait at!" Aang hollered. He found a seat on a nearby bench and took his hat off. It was so itchy for him he was willing to ditch the disguise for some relief.

"Aang?!" A girl's voice gasped in shock from nearby. Aang looked up quickly, thinking it was Katara. For a fleeting moment, his heart pounded in excitement, and anticipation. But the girl who walked up to him was not Katara. It was an older girl, with auburn hair and pale skin. Aang looked at her in confusion until she realized he didn't recognize her. "Oh...it's me, Suki."

"Wow, you look way different without the face paint."

"That's what Katara said too." Suki replied. She wanted to gauge his reaction to her seeing Katara.

"What?!" Aang nearly yelled.

"Shhh. Keep it down."

"Sorry."

"You saw Katara?"

"Yeah. She came through here yesterday. I went with her to meet up with Toph and Sokka in the city."

"Wait." Aang held up a hand. "She was alone?"

"It's a long story. Ask her when you see her." Aang's eyes flickered briefly with an emotion Suki recognized. It was the same emotion she saw in Katara's when Aang's name was mentioned. "She misses you." Suki was trying to hint at something, but didn't want to go too far. Aang looked up again. "A lot."

"I...I miss her so much. All of them."

"You'll see them soon. They're-" Suki suddenly became extremely alert and pulled out her fans and entered a battle stance. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Huh?" Zuko took a step back.

Aang realized the issue immediately. He jumped up and pulled Suki's arms down. "They're with me."

"What?!" Suki gasped. "They tried to kill you. _He_ burned my village."

"That was all in the past. They've changed, and so have I."

"Huh?"

"I've learned firebending from them, and...well...they've helped me through a lot of emotional pain."

Suki understood what Aang meant by that last part. She relaxed. "Katara's _not_ going to like this."

Aang sighed and looked down. "I know."

Suki gently squeezed his shoulder. "Don't worry. She trusts you."

Aang smiled. "Thanks." Aang thought for a moment. "Do you know where they are?"

"They're staying in a small house in the Upper Ring. Here, I'll write down the address for you." Suki pulled out a small piece of paper and a pencil. She quickly scribbled the address down and handed it to him. "If I could, can I speak to you in private?"

Aang was a little confused. "Uh...sure." He gestured to Zuko and Iroh and they left. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Something a litle blind earthbender told me about how you feel towards Katara." Aang stiffened and blushed. He sat back down on the bench.

"Why did she tell you that?"

"Because, right now, she needs you. More than anything. And...well, we want to see it happen." Suki smiled.

"Thanks for the advice, but I don't even know if she feels the same way about me." Aang sighed. "We didn't exactly leave things in a good state between us."

"What happened?"

"She didn't tell you?" Suki shook her head. "We got in a fight. A _bad_ one before we got separated."

"Well, it doesn't matter. She probably forgot about it, and plus, she need you and I have feeling she _does_ feel the same way. Just tell her exactly how you feel, when you get the chance of course."

"Thanks. I will."

"You've got a ferry to catch." Aang began to walk away. "And Aang..." He turned around. "Be careful." He nodded and caught back up to Zuko and Iroh.

"Um...who was that?" Zuko asked hesitantly.

"She...uh, is the leader of the Kyoshi warriors." Aang replied. Zuko went as white as Appa. He had no idea who it was and now just realized what he had done to her in the past.

"Oh." Was Zuko's measly reply. He had no idea how else to continue. "So, what were you two tslking about before we got there?"

Aang grew a wide smile. One of pure joy. "They're in Ba Sing Se, and I know where they are." Aang exclaimed excitedly.

"That's wonderful, Aang." Iroh chimed in. "I must only assume you will go to them once we get there."

"I do, but I want to know where you guys will be at before I go. I need to introduce you...somehow."

"Uh, yeah. I'll let you handle that, Aang." Zuko replied.

The trio continued onto the ferry and waited for it to set sail. Zuko and Iroh found the time not walking very relaxing, but Aang was another story. He was not relaxed at all. All he wanted to do was see his friends again. He missed all of them so much. From Sokka's sarcasm, to Toph's stubborn personality. But most of all, he just wanted to see Katara again; the love of his life.

Aang had thought about what Suki said, that Katara 'needed' him. But what did she mean? Just that she missed him like any friend would, or if she truly loved him the same way and that 'needing' him meant that she needed his love, and someone to love. Her best friend.

The ferry ride seemed agonizingly slow for Aang. He just wanted to get to Ba Sing Se and see his friends. But, he was also worried about other things. He felt as though he would be abandoning his new friends for his old ones. No matter what, Aang would cherish his friendships, but he felt like he has already started ignoring Zuko and Iroh. But, then again, they understood his position and what he was going through; that didn't help the matter.

"Troubled?" Iroh asked as he sipped his tea. They were all sitting on the deck of the boat, for it was packed with people.

"Hm?" Aang mumbled as he rose his head to look at Iroh. The setting sun blinded him for a moment. for it was directly behind his firebending master.

"You seem troubled. Is something wrong?"

"It's...nothing." He didn't want to speak his thoughts in fear of planting seeds of abandonment.

"Aang..." Iroh spoke softly. "You can tell us."

"It's just that I feel like I'm...abandoning you, if that's the right word, for Sokka, Toph and Katara." Aang spoke in a hushed tone. He felt ashamed.

"Aang, they were your friends long before us. We didn't come all this way for nothing." Aang looked up, a glint of hope in his eyes. "We came all this way for you...and your friends."

Aang was speechless, he always thought there was an ulterior motive for them to come to Ba Sing Se. _Starting a new life here is probably just something that came with helping me_ , Aang thought. "I...I don't...I don't know what to say."

"You need not say anything. Zuko and I are your friends as well; we always will be." Iroh mused , giving Zuko a sideways glance, noting the smile on the banished prince's face. Zuko had changed a lot on this journey and Iroh couldn't be more proud. "We're almost there, Aang. Hang in there."

Aang did just that as the ferry continued towards Ba Sing Se. When they finally arrived at the far side of the lake, Aang, Zuko, and Iroh were getting fatigued. It was a long hard journey. But, it was nearly at an end. Dusk was falling, but they had arrived at the train into the city. They boarded quickly, and prepared for what was to come. Iroh was set up with an empty shop in which he planned to start his own tea shop. He and Zuko were discussing a name for the shop, but were getting nowhere at this point.

Aang, on the other hand, was thinking about what to say to his friends. And more specifically, Katara. He loved her, but he wasn't sure he could say it. Suki had hinted at some things and had told Aang to speak his heart. Aang also didn't know how to explain that he had been travelling with 'enemies' while he was gone. He also didn't want that to hurt his friendship with Katara. She hates Zuko and the Fire Nation with a blazing fire for what they had done to her.

Aang couldn't keep dwelling on these things, for they had arrived in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"What do you think of 'The Jasmine Dragon?'" Iroh mused. "Fierce and poetic."

"I think it sounds great, Uncle." Zuko replied as he set his small bag down on one of the tables.

"Aang, what do you think?"

"Hm?"

"What do you think of 'The Jasmine Dragon?'" Iroh gestured triumphantly.

"Oh...um, I think it sounds great." Aang mumbled as he sat in one of the nearby chairs, staring off into the purple twilight sky, for his mind was elsewhere.

Iroh stepped over to Aang, kneeled down, and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I think you should go see them now."

Aang looked up at his new friend...or family member for that matter. Aang gave a soft smile. "Right, I probably should." Aang stood up and headed out the door. 'I'll probably see you tomorrow."

Iroh and Zuko nodded. "Good luck." Zuko gave Aang a nod.

"Okay, thanks." Aang exited the shop and headed for the address Suki gave him. He walked in silence, thinking about what to say. But, before he knew it, he was at the house in question. Aang pulled the note with the address out of his pocket and double checked. This was it. Aang walked up the steps and to the door.

He hesitated, and then knocked.

 **A/N: Haha. Cliff hanger! Sorry if that angers you guys, but I promise that the next chapter will be entirely devoted to** ** _The Reunion._** **Which brings me to the name of the next chapter: Chapter 13: The Reunion.**

 **Again thanks for reading, reviewing and following this story. It means a lot.**


	13. Chapter 13: The Reuinion

**The time has finally come. I apologize for the wait. College has been busy. I was working on my other stories, and most importantly, I was trying to get this chapter right. A lot of stuff happens this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it. I want to thank all of you for being such loyal readers.**

 ** _We_** **now have over 50 reviews on this story. I can't thank you guys enough. This is my first Fic, and it has been an amazing ride so for. And thank you for being there through it. This will not be the end; far from it, in fact. I will continue this story into Book 3 and maybe beyond, as I have said before.**

 **Before you get to the story, I would like to let you know of my little sketch of the opening scene of this chapter. Check it out in my profile: ATLAGDL12 on** ** _DeviantArt._** **I am very proud of it. It is very much how I picture this scene when writing it.**

 **Again, thank you so much, and please review.**

Chapter 13: The Reunion

 _Previously,_

 _Aang_ _walked in silence, thinking about what to say. But, before he knew it, he was at the house in question. Aang pulled the note with the address out of his pocket and double checked. This was it. Aang walked up the steps and to the door._

 _He hesitated, and then knocked._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It had been a long, boring day with nothing to do but wait. With Joo Dee constantly keeping the three of them in check, and the Dai Lee a new and intelligent enemy, they couldn't do anything until the vague possibility that Aang would get there. They needed to prove the Avatar was here, and he would help. But, no one completely believed Sokka's claim of being 'best buds' with the Avatar. So, here they were: Waiting.

Sokka was sitting on the couch, drawing out plans for the invasion. Toph was lying on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling while petting Momo, who was curled up on her stomach. Katara, meanwhile, was brewing tea in the kitchen. She was in a slightly solemn mood, but she was better than before. Being back with Sokka and Toph certainly helped. And she couldn't forget Appa and Momo.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Katara moved to answer, but Sokka stopped her with a dismissive shout. "Don't answer, Katara. It's probably Joo dee again." She silently complied and went back to brewing tea. The door was knocked again, but they all ignored it.

Katara place the tea kettle on a tray with smaller porcelain tea cups and began making her way towards the living room when the door was knocked again. She huffed in frustration at the persistence, so she decided to tell Joo dee to go away. She turned towards the door and began to pull it open, opening her mouth to say tell the person off. But when she looked up, all previous intentions disappeared. The tray she was holding went crashing to the floor, shattering the pot and cup. Tears welled in her eyes and began to stream down her cheeks.

Aang was back.

She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a fierce embrace, one he returned with equal ferocity. He was finally back. Her shoulders began to shake from sobs as he shed tears of his own. Katara couldn't believe it. He had found his way back to her...to them. So many things needed to be said, but only one thing came out.

"You're back!" Katara whispered through her choked tears, her voice shaking violently. Aang couldn't find the right words to respond with, so he held her tighter. Katara choked another sob. "I missed you so, so much." She whispered.

"I missed you too." Aang replied through his own tears, but Katara faintly noticed how much deeper his voice was. She also noticed his tunic style clothing that revealed his newly toned muscles. But, in ths=is moment none of that mattered.

Aang was back.

The two broke apart as the sound of Momo's chittering grew closer. Katara gave Aang a smile that contained more emotions than one could conceive as she wiped her tears away and allowed passage for Momo. The small, fury critter landed on Aang's shoulder and crawled around his master's head, neck and torso, licking and doing whatever else he needed. Katara let out a choked giggle while watching Momo see his master for the first time in months.

Aang chuckled. "I missed you too, Momo!" Aang said excitedly through bits of laughter. This time, Katara really noticed how much deeper his voice seemed. And, he was now the same height as her. She smiled fondly at the airbender in front of her as he played with Momo.

At this moment, after hearing all of the commotion, Sokka and Toph ran through the door. "Aang!" They both yelled in unison as Momo attempted to escape the coming impact. Both Sokka and Toph collided with Aang in a brief, but fierce bear hug. Sokka gave Aang a quick nuggy. "Missed you, Buddy!" Sokka said excitedly. Aang eventually fought his way out of Sokka's grip.

"Yeah, welcome back Twinkletoes!" Toph added in, punching his arm playfully. He noticed the smile on her face: not her typical smirk, but a genuine smile.

"After all this time, you're still calling me that?" Aang accused playfully.

"Well I could call you 'Big Fat Jerkface' for worrying Katara so much over here." Toph gestured towards Katara, who blushed slightly. Aang and Katara locked gazes briefly, both smiling, but Aang wore a more apologetic face, while hers was beyond euphoric and strangely embarrassed. But, each got the message.

"It's...it's so good to be back." Aang stuttered as tears began to form again. Katara pulled him into another hug. He melted into the embrace as Sokka and Toph joined in. After about a minute, they broke the hug.

"Sokka and I'll head inside and get your stuff set up in your room." Toph explained as she began to go inside. Sokka followed, leaving Aang and Katara by themselves. Each wanted to say so much right then and there, but neither felt the courage to do so. Both were unsure of the others' true feeling despite what they were told. Katara's hopes got up that Aang would say something about it when he spoke, but it wasn't at all like that.

"Where's Appa?" Aang asked, gazing at Katara.

Katara smiled. "I thought you'd never ask. He's out back." She led him around the side of the building to a large garden area where Appa immediately stopped what he was doing and charged Aang.

Aang braced himself, but no one could stop a ten ton flying bison from tackling them. Appa pinned Aang to the ground and gave him a big, wet, slobbery lick.

Aang hugged the giant bison's head. "Missed ya' buddy." Aang said softly as he nuzzled into Appa's neck.

Katara looked on at Aang and Appa. She couldn't believe what a miracle this was for him to be back. She was euphoric and nervous all at the same time. So many things she wanted to say, but no words to convey it. So, she sucked in all of her apprehensions and went for it.

"Hey...Aang?"

"Yeah, Katara." Aang replied as he jumped up and airbended the slobber off of himself. "What's up?"

"Well...I-I kinda wanted to talk." She began to flush red and rub her arms nervously. She began to have second thoughts about all of this. _Is this the right time? He hasn't even adjusted yet._ Thankfully, she was save.

"Aang, your room is ready!" Sokka yelled out the back door. Katara breathed a sigh of relief.

"Coming Sokka!" Aang yelled back as he gave Appa a pat on the head. "Later, we'll go flying buddy." Aang whispered to the bison, who grunted in approval. Aang began to walk towards the back door and gave Katara a brief, but knowing smile as he passed her. After a brief moment, she followed. But, as he went down the hallway to his new room, she went to the kitchen with a large smile plastered on her face, one that was real and trying to hide her flushing face. Toph was sitting at the table.

"Any luck?" Toph asked nonchalantly, smirking.

"With what?" Katara acted as though she had no idea what Toph was talking about.

"Don't even try and play that game with me, Sweetness." Toph paused. "So. did ya tell him?"

Katara sighed and let her head down. "No." Katara grunted. "I was going to. I started to talk, then I lost my head, then Sokka interrupted me."

"Leave it to Sokka." Toph sighed in disappointment.

"I think he actually saved me from embarrassing myself." Katara explained.

"I don't think that would really matter with Twinkletoes." Toph explained, matte-of-factly.

"Yes, really." Toph grunted. She was getting a bit frustrated. "Look. Just talk to him when you get the chance. Something might come out."

"Okay." Katara conceded.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Here we are, Aang." Sokka opened the door to a small room with two beds. "This room is for you and me. Toph and Katara's is right there." Sokka gestured to the door directly across from their room.

"Thanks, Sokka."

"Eh. It's just good to have you back." Sokka shrugged, but then looked down in thought.

Aang took notice. "Did Katara talk to you about...anything...when you were with Appa?"

Aang hesitated for a moment, but he decided not to bring up Katara wanting to talk. "No. Why?" Aang asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"She hasn't been herself since you disappeared. I was just wondering if she brought it up with you. That's all." Sokka explained. He was still worried about his sister. Her mood swings and personal adventure scared him.

Aang had no idea Katara had been that way, nor had it crossed his mind. After all, the last time he saw her, they had a bad argument. "What exactly happened when I was gone?"

"That's not for me to tell." Sokka said softly. "And don't worry about it. There's no way you could've known." Sokka reassured him, place a hand on his shoulder. "I wonder if Katara is getting dinner ready."

Aang interjected quickly, not wanting to worry Katara with dinner. Also, he had to do this eventually. "Actually...I know a place where we can go to dinner here in the Upper Ring."

"I'm sure Katara could just-" Sokka was cut-off."

"No." Aang stated plainly. "I want and need to do this." Aang hesitated. "It's a tea shop that the people I travelled with got set up in." Aang was trying his hardest to be vague. He didn't anyone to flip out at the fact that he had been travelling with former enemies. "I want you guys to meet them."

"Are you sure?" He asked. "Most places close in about an hour."

"They'll stay open for us." Aang reassured with a slight joking tone and a smile.

"Okay. Let's tell the others."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Aang and Sokka entered the kitchen where Toph sat alone, resting her head on her hand. Aang was surprised to see that Katara was not there. "Where's Katara?" Aang asked.

Toph picked her head up and looked in his relative direction. "She went to get something for you out of Appa's saddle."

At that moment Katara stepped through the door. She had heard everyone talking, so she attempted to hide her 'welcome back gift' for Aang behind her back. For reasons she couldn't understand, Katara's heart started beating faster once she saw Aang again. She wished he didn't have that tunic style shirt on; she was getting distracted. "I-I have something for you." Katara stuttered as she gazed deeply into Aang's eyes.

He took a slow step forward, wondering what she meant by that. Her gaze was intoxicating. "What is it?"

Katara smiled and belled the object out from behind her back and held it out for him. She smiled warmly at him as he realized what it was. "I made sure to keep it safe for you." She said softly.

Aang reached out and grabbed it. "My staff! I thought it was gone forever!" Aang yelled excitedly. His amazement at its survival of his capture was consuming him.

Katara, on the other hand, was remembering what had happened that day. She looked down at the floor sadly. "I-It was on the ground where-where you were sleeping the night you-" She couldn't finish what she was saying; the memory was too painful. Tears began to sting her eyes, but she managed to hold them back and not make a scene. Katara decided to change the subject. "I'll start getting dinner ready."

"You don't have to." Sokka stopped her. "The people Aang travelled with have a tea shop here."

Katara was shocked at this. She thought that he would have travelled here on his own, especially since he was the Avatar after all. She felt kind of jealous, but excited to meet Aang's friends. "I can't wait to meet them. What are their names, and where are they from?"

That was the question Aang did _not_ want to answer. "Well um...I'd rather not say." He muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Katara didn't like that answer. They had been separated for months. Why did he need to hide stuff from _her._ "What do you mean you would rather not say?" Katara replied with a mocking tone she didn't mean for. She immediately realized her mistake.

Aang glared at her briefly and noticed the sorrowful look in her eyes that was her apology for her outburst. "I guess...it's supposed to be a surprise."

"I like surprises!" Toph exclaimed.

Aang let out a nervous chuckle. "Uh...yeah. Let's get going." He muttered as he led everyone out of the door.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Aang was leading the way to the Jasmine Dragon. Katara walked right beside him as Toph and Sokka followed. Katara was beside herself with joy as her and Aang walked side by side. They were deep in conversation about both of them seeing King Bumi again, though Katara wasn't talking in too much detail about her little time spent there. She did mention the Fire Nation's invasion.

"You were there when the Fire Nation attacked Omashu?!" Aang exclaimed.

Katara looked down. "Yeah, we thought that would be the place you'd go if you escaped-"

"Which I did." Aang spoke proudly, eliciting a giggle from Katara.

"That you did." Katara spoke proudly as well. Her and Aang shared a quick glance before looking straight ahead again. " Anyway we were going to wait for you, but then the Fire Nation showed up." Katara spoke as evenly as she could remembering her despair on that day. "Bumi promised that if you came, he would send you here."

"I guess he kept that promise." Aang responded.

They walked on in silence for a few moments. Sokka and Toph decided it best to let Aang and Katara catch up. But then a question formed in Sokka's mind. "How did you know where to go once you got here?"

"Oh um...I talked to Suki at the ferry docks." Aang muttered.

"Well I guess she's everywhere these days." Toph muttered.

Aang corked a brow and glanced back at her. "What do you mean?"

"Well...she came back with Katara and then she saw you." Toph stated matter-of-factly.

Aang thought for a moment. "Came back...where did you go?" Aang addressed Katara.

She glared back at Toph, despite the fact that she couldn't see. Then she looked back at Aang who was giving her a worried gaze. "I'll talk to you about it later." Aang nodded.

"Well...we're here." Aang announced nervously as they entered the courtyard in front of the shop. He had no idea how his friends would react, especially Katara. "Katara?" Aang asked when he stopped just before the steps.

"Yes, Aang?" Katara replied with a small hint of wonder.

"Promise me you try to be calm."Aang pleaded softly.

Katara was taken aback at this request. She began to think Aang thought something was somehow wrong with her. "Why would I need to stay calm?" She asked with a small hint of self-consciousness.

"Just promise me, please." Aang pleaded. Katara was shocked by the bitterness in his tone, but she figured he had his reasons.

"Okay." Aang smiled at her response.

He led them up the steps and through the door, and Aang soon realized that Katara's promise apparently didn't mean much when she saw Zuko and Iroh sitting at one of the small tables having a conversation. She and Sokka soon got into fighting stances. Katara pulled water out of her water skin and formed it around her arms. Sokka pulled out his club. Toph, on the other hand, was really confused for she had never met Zuko.

"What are you doing here?!" Katara yelled at Zuko and Iroh. Zuko went to stand up. "Don't move!" Katara commanded.

Aang saw the situation already getting out of hand. He stepped in front of her and grabbed her hands. He held them softly and gazed into her eyes, trying to send a message. She gazed back and the water suddenly dropped from her arms and splashed on the ground. Aang lowered her hands. "You promised me." Aang spoke softly, yet earnestly.

Katara gazed in wonder at him. She felt ashamed, but confused at the same time. "Wha-what do you mean?" Katara stuttered.

Aang let go of her hands and stood aside, gesturing towards Zuko and Iroh. "Zuko and Iroh are who I travelled with." He spoke as softly and calmly as he possibly could.

"You're kidding, right?" Sokka asked incredulously as he put his club away.

Katara began to shake. "How could you... _he_ tried to kill you! He tried to kill us!" Katara yelled vehemently.

"Katara..." Aang spoke softly and she looked at him again. Her back was still slightly arched in anger. "People change." He placed his hand out in between the two of them and a small flame appeared. Katara was surprised at first, but was now in wonder. "They helped me in more ways than one."

At this point Katara just remained silent. She didn't know what to do. This was so much of a shock. Aang friends with Zuko. Their once mortal enemy. The man who chased them across the world. Meanwhile, Aang left her alone to go 'introduce' Sokka to Zuko. Toph had it easy. She never knew Iroh and Zuko, and was in a deep conversation with Iroh about earth and firebending.

Katara couldn't take it, so she left. She slipped outside and walked away. No one noticed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ten minutes later, Aang, Sokka and Zuko were finishing up a conversation.

"Sokka, there's no such thing as sword-bending." Zuko exclaimed.

"Whatever, I just want you to teach me how to swing those things around." Sokka pointed at Zuko's double swords on the wall in the kitchen.

"It took me years of practice. And without a proper master, you'll never learn correctly." Zuko explained

"Then why don't you teach me." Sokka asked without a moment's hesitation.

"I'm not really the teaching type." Zuko shrugged. He hesitated for a moment. "Tell you what, when this war is over, I'll bring you to my old master."

"Piandao." Iroh jumped into the conversation. "He is the best swordsman in the world."

"Really!?" Aang cut in excitedly.

"Yes. He is also a member of the Order of the White Lotus, but he resides in the Fire Nation." Iroh explained as he set a fresh batch of tea on the table in front of the three boys.

"That's a bummer." Sokka muttered sadly.

"Uh...twinkletoes?" Toph interjected as she came back from the bathroom.

"What's up?" Aang turned around to regard the earthbender.

"Katara's gone." Aang and Sokka stood up at the news. Sokka did not want another 'personal discovery trip' thing with her. "I don't know where she went, and I don't know how I didn't feel her leave."

Aang sighed a bit sadly. "It's probably about Zuko and Iroh." Aang turned to Sokka. "Don't worry, I'll find her." He made his way outside as everyone else returned to conversation.

He walked down the through the streets of the Upper Ring without much methodology behind his search, but an idea struck him. Whenever she was upset, she would waterbend, so all Aang needed to do was find a place with water. And he knew just the place. There was a large garden on the way to the palace that was rarely used and had a large fountain in the middle of it. Just the place Katara loved.

Aang began walking in the direction of the garden. As he continued, however, he couldn't help but blame himself completely for Katara running off. Their reunion had been so rushed that they hardly even had time to talk like they used to. And then suddenly thrusting the news of Zuko and Iroh being friends in her face didn't help. She was probably just so overwhelmed with everything.

Eventually, Aang had found the garden, and sure enough, Katara was sitting on the edge of the water, peering into its depths. She didn't hear him approach. She watched her reflection in the water until, every few seconds, a ripple would distort it. A ripple from her tears.

"Katara..." Came a soft voice from behind here.

She trembled. She was sad, nervous, scared. Everything rolled up into one. All of them stemming from the return of the airbender behind her. "I-I'm fine, Aang." She muttered through her chocked sobs.

Aang shook his head. _Same old, stubborn Katara_ , he thought. He waited a moment. "Katara..." He pressed softly as he sat down next to her on the edge of the fountain.

She refused to look up at him. "I told you I'm fine."

Aang looked down at her reflection briefly before looking at her again. She appeared to be crying harder now. He took his hand and placed it under her chin, tilting her head s she would look him in the eye. It was an intimate gesture that he hadn't initially meant, but neither minded. "Katara, you can tell me what's wrong." He spoke softly again, gazing into her tear-ridden, sapphire eyes.

"I-I can't." She stuttered as she pulled away from his hand. "Things...things are different."

"Katara, I haven't changed." Aang answered calmly, trying to get his point across.

"You haven't?" She asked sarcastically with a bit of bite behind it. She looked at him now. She had even more sadness burning in her eyes. "Back there you made it perfectly clear that people change. Maybe it's Zuko, maybe it's you." She ranted. " _You_ have changed. You firebend now. You're taller..." She began to break down even more. "I-I-It's be-been three months. I-I-" She couldn't continue for she had completely broken down, tears streaming down her face and shaking violently.

Aang began to cry softly to and pulled her into a strong embrace. Her head resting on his left shoulder as she soaked it in tears. He rubbed her back softly as she continued. "It's all right."

"I-I missed so-so m-much." Her muffled words came.

Aang sobbed a little. "I-I missed you too." He rubbed her back more.

She pulled back from his embrace. "I-I'm sorry." She sniffled.

"It's okay. I think we both needed that." Aang smiled.

"It's not just about that." She sighed. "I'm sorry about getting a little snippy with you a minute ago."

"I understand, Katara. It's been a long time."

She chuckled the first smile she's had since he arrived at the fountain. "Too long." She paused for a moment.

"Listen I-" Both started at the same time which elicited some nervous laughter from the both of them.

"Ladies first." Aang chuckled.

"Okay." Katara started. "Listen, I-I need to tell you something." Katara shook. Aang was listening intently, waiting. "I really, really struggled while you were gone."

Aang nodded. "Sokka mentioned something." Aang stated.

Katara blushed, trying her best to hide it by looking at her own reflection. She began to fiddle with the water. "H-How much did he tell you?"

"Not much."

"Well, in short, I was a mess." Katara sniffled a little bit, but a small smile formed. "But, I think it may have been a good thing." She began to shake with anticipation. "Our being apart made me realize how much I needed you." Aang began to understand where she was going. "Aang, I-"

She was cut off. Not by words, but by the soft, sweet lips of the airbender that she had grown so close to despite their time spent so far apart. At first, she was beyond surprise and her eyes snapped open. But, she soon melted into the kiss, returning it with equal passion. She wrapped her arms around his neck. This was the best thing that had ever happened to both of them. Hot tears fell from Katara's eyes. Tears joy. They pulled away from each other as their hands fingers entwined.

"-love you." Katara finished what she began with a whisper. She slowly opened her eyes to see the amazing person in front of her. She blushed, realizing what they had just done.

Aang smiled warmly. "I love you too." He hugged her briefly then he pulled back. "So..."

"So..." Katara repeated. "I guess this means..."

"We're together." Aang finished. He stood up and brought her with him. "Should we let them know?"

Katara chuckled. "I'm sure Toph knows. You know, 'all seeing feet.'"

Aang let out a nervous chuckle. "Zuko and Iroh know, considering I talked to them about what to do when we got back together."

"So who told you to just kiss me?" Katara teased.

"Me." Aang said cheerfully. "What about Sokka?"

"I don't want to tell him." Katara muttered. "At least not yet anyway." She corrected.

"Let me guess, you think he won't approve."

"No, I think he'll understand. But, he's got this 'protective older brother' complex that will complicate things." Katara paused. "And teasing.

"We don't want that." Aang stated jokingly. "Maybe it'll be fun running around behind his back." He smirked.

Katara pressed up close to him. "Okay, Mister Fly Boy. That fast?"

Aang blushed a deep red. "No...uh...that's n-not what I meant." Aang backed away and stumbled into the fountain, causing a huge splash.

Katara lost it. She began to roll around on her back laughing the hardest she ever has. Aang stood up and sputtered as he got up. He was drenched, but he quickly airbended the water off of him.

"You think that was funny?" Aang asked sarcastically. "I'll show you funny." Katara's eyes went wide as he began to lift up his arms to waterbend a wave of water towards her.

Her eyes went at the realization. She quickly got up. "Now, Aang. I was only messing with you." But he continued to raise his hands, but his hands began to shake as the water dropped from his grip. He plumped down hard on the edge of the fountain. He hung his head in disappointment. Katara knew something was wrong. "Aang, it's okay." She assured. She didn't know what she was talking about; she just knew he needed something.

"No it's not!" He grunted. "I can't waterbend." He muttered sadly.

This shocked Katara. He had always been a natural at bending the other elements. "Why?" She asked simply.

"I haven't done it in months." He mumbled into his hands.

Katara came to sit next to him and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, pulling him close. "Tell you what. Tomorrow, first date, you and me, waterbending practice." Aang looked her in the eye. Happiness radiating from his own.

"That sounds great!" Aang exclaimed happily. There's a nice lake outside the main walls of the city where no one can see us, in the agrarian zone. We can go there."

Katara stood up and grabbed Aang's hand. "Sounds like a date." She pulled him up. "Let's start heading back." They began to walk.

"Katara?" Aang stopped walking, pulling her to a stop.

"Yes, Aang?" She turned to him so now they held both of each other's hand.

"I know this whole 'Zuko being my friend' thing is a bit of a shock, but can you please at least be friendly."

Katara sighed unhappily. "I'm sorry, Aang. He's done too much to hurt us...to hurt you in the past for me to accept him." She spoke sternly; her stubbornness rearing its head again.

"I'm not asking you to accept him. Just that you _try_ to be friendly." He pressed.

"Okay, okay. I'll try." Katara conceded, trying to hide her smile. She was defeated by Aang's piercing gaze.

"What about Iroh?" Aang asked.

"I trust him. He helped us save the moon and ocean spirits at the North Pole." Katara explained.

"Okay. I think it's time to head back." Aang explained, looking up at the rising moon. Katara followed his gaze. When they looked back down from the their eyes locked and Katara couldn't resist the temptation. She pressed her lips to his and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer. He melted into the kiss and began to move synchronously until they ran out of breath.

Katara pulled back and took a deep breath before opening her eyes and smiled. Aang stood dazed in front of her. He quickly shook his head to get back to reality. Katara chuckled. "Thought I'd return the favor."

"Whoa. That was amazing!" Aang exclaimed.

Katara blushed and looked at her feet. "Thanks. That was only my second kiss." She stated softly.

"I-I-I was _your_ first kiss?" Aang asked. He never new; he always thought Katara would have had some sort of experience. "What about Jet? I thought-"

" _He_ never did such a thing!" Katara yelled, soon realizing that she had. "Sorry. I'm sad to say that he was almost my first kiss." Aang looked down. "But, I wouldn't have had it with anybody but you." Katara lifted his chin, capturing his lips in a brief but meaningful kiss.

"I'm glad to say that _my_ first was with you." Aang smiled.

Katara smiled. "I guess we're both first-timers." She chuckled as they began to walk again. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "You don't know how happy this makes me."

Aang wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "Me too." He hummed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Aang and Katara arrived back at the Jasmine Dragon in smiles, but no longer holding hands; their current plan was to still hide their new relationship from Sokka for the time being. Everyone noticed them walk in. Zuko and Iroh quickly turned their attention back to brewing tea. Toph was smirking broadly and Sokka was rushing over to Aang.

"Good. You two are back." Sokka regarded both of them. He turned to Aang. "I need to talk to you about our plan, but all my stuff is back at the house."

Aang looked at Katara briefly. She smiled and nodded, signaling that he should go. "Okay." Aang stated plainly and followed Sokka back out the door.

Katara walked over to the table where Toph was sitting and joined her. Zuko placed a cup of tea in front of each of the two girls and left, not before receiving a suspicious glare form Katara.

Toph took a sip of tea and placed it down on the table rather hard. "So..." Toph started.

Katara was struggling to hold in her smile and slow her heart rate. "Soooo what?" She offeredd in return.

"What happened?" Toph pressed, her own impatience getting the better of her.

Katara began to smile slightly, still struggeling." Nothing. Nothing happened." She said quickly.

"I know you're lying." Toph returned in a sing-song voice.

"Fine! You got me." Katara conceded. "We're together now."

Toph punched her arm. "Ha. I always knew _you'd_ do it!" She exclaimed.

Katara rubbed her arm which would certainly have a bruise on it later. "Actually, he did it."

Toph spit out the tea in her mouth. "What?!" She yelled. "What'd he do?"

"He kissed me." Katara muttered with a blush.

"Wow. Twinkletoes grew bold when he was gone." Katara looked over at Zuko and Iroh her were looking on with smiles. When they saw her look, they immediately busied themselves with something else. "So..." Toph continued. "...how is he?"

"Huh?" Katara looked at her funny.

"How good of a kisser is he?" Toph asked simply.

Katara blushed deeply. "Why do you want to know?"

"Girl talk. Now spit it!" She yelled.

Katara turned her head. "No."

Toph slammed her palm on the table. "Why?"

"Because."

"Katara..." Toph pressed.

"Fine!" She yelled. "He's an amazing kisser! I don't understand it. _I_ was his first kiss. Why is so good already?!" Katara exclaimed

Toph smirked. "Maybe he practiced with a tree."

"TOPH!" Katara chided loudly.

"Just kidding, Sugarqueen." Toph raised her hands in defense. "Might just be beginners luck."

"Or an Avatar thing." Katara stated meekly and looked down at her fiddling hands.

"Just don't embarrass yourself." Toph smiled. "Well, I know I don't normally say these things, but I'm happy for you two." Toph's grin grew broader.

"Thank you." Katara replied graciously. "Think we should head back?"

"Man, you've got it bad." Toph teased to a confused Katara. "Miss him already?"

"Of course I do. I've waited three months for him to come back. Now he's back and I want to catch up with him."

"And trade spit." Toph added nonchalantly.

"Toph!"

"Oh. Come. On!" Toph exclaimed. "Don't even try to deny it!"

"Okay. Maybe there'll be a few kisses." Katara blushed and looked down. "Don't tell Sokka, please."

"You have my word." Toph lifted her hand above her head.

"Your word isn't always solid though." Katara smirked and crossed her arms.

"Fine!" Toph stood up and placed a hand across her chest. " I swear on my skills as the greatest earthbender in the world that I will not tell Sokka." Toph finished loudly, attracting looks from both Zuko and Iroh.

"Us too." Zuko added in with a smile. Katara glared at him again, wiping the smile from his face.

Katara looked back to Toph. "Thanks. Think we should head back?"

"Sure. It's getting pretty late." Toph stood up and headed for the door and Katara followed.

Before Katara exited the Jasmine Dragon, Zuko caught up to her. "Katara..." She turned and looked at him with an unreadable, but non-to-pleased look on her face. "I know it doesn't mean much coming from me...but I want to say I'm happy for you. Aang loves you a lot, and he'll do anything or you." Zuko explained sincerely.

Katara had no choice but to accept that. "Thanks." And she left with Toph.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

When Katara and Toph arrived back at the house, Sokka had just finished explaining the invasion plan to Aang; he also explained the problem that was Joo Dee and how to talk to the earth king. Everyone was extremely tire, so when Aang decided to go into his and Sokka's room to get ready for bed, Katara followed suite and decided to get ready for bed.

Before Aang entered his room, Katara caught up to him. "Hey, Aang." Katara kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Katara." Aang said softly before disappearing into his room. Katara went into her own.

Neither of them could fall asleep, for their minds were spinning. It was like a dream and although they were in separate rooms, it felt like they could still feel how each other was feeling and what they were thinking.

A bond that could never be broken.

 **A/N: A simple ending to what I hope was a good chapter. The moment finally came and I hope I delivered. I wanted to make this chapter right.**

 **Again, thanks for all the support and please review.**


	14. Chapter 14: The First Date

**Finally another update. I've had a long and busy summer. Had some bad stuff happen family-wise, so I've been dealing with that. And I had a summer job. So, nothing to fear: this and my other stories are still alive and well. This chapter will focus a lot around Aang and Katara as usual, and it will have some of Sokka's ideas to set up the next couple chapters.**

 **MUST READ:** **Another side note that is** **very important!** **Earlier in the story I had Aang turn 13 and Katara turn 15; I did that to create a more emotional effect on them, but I realize, storytelling wise, it was not the best move so:** **KATARA IS 14** **and** **AANG IS 13** **from now on. I prefer having them closer in age for the sake of romance anyway.**

 **To answer Ashley Barbosa's question: Aang** ** _was_** **Katara's first kiss. Looking back on it, what I wrote was a little confusing. I was trying to say that Katara almost kissed Jet when they first met, but she didn't and she is happy that she didn't. If that makes sense.**

 **On to the story. I don't own ATLA. Bryke does.**

Chapter 14: The First Date

Katara rose with the sun as its rays peaked their way through her window. She sat up slowly and stretched. She was extremely excited for the day ahead: it was the first full day of her and Aang being a couple and the day of their first date. They were going to spend a day alone together, waterbending, catching up and just enjoying each other. She stood up and gazed out her window. She enjoyed the cool morning breeze as she opened her window.

She got out of her night gown and washed up in her bathroom and got herself into her daily clothes. Walking out into the dining area, she decided o read some scrolls she managed to pick up at Wan Shi Tong's library while she waited for Aang to get up. She sat down on the couch and began to read. She secretly hoped he was still an early riser, so they could have some time alone before Sokka and Toph woke up.

Almost immediately after she finished her thought, Katara heard a door down the hall behind her creak open and then shut. She continued to read until and acted as if she was oblivious, knowing it was Aang; she wanted to see what he would do to get her attention. Soon after she felt someone's hot breath on the back of her neck that somehow sent chills down her spine despite the heat. She then felt a pair of soft lips plant a kiss on her cheek.

She smiled. "You missed." Katara stated, not wavering her attention from her scroll.

Aang blushed. "Huh?" Came a confused voice from Aang as he tried to figure out what she meant.

"I said you missed."

"I don't understa-Oh." Came Aang's realization. He moved to the end of the couch next to Katara and sat on the arm. He gently grabbed her chin and moved her to face him. "How's this?" He smirked before leaning in and giving her a slow burning kiss. He pulled away, both of them blushing, still trying to get used to all this. Though, they did think they were doing a good job of it so far.

"Much better." Katara hummed. "I think my day just got a whole lot better." Katara smiled.

Aang smiled back. "What'ya reading there."

Katara looked back to the scroll and then rolled it up."Just a scroll I picked up at Wan Shi Tong's library."

"What does it say?" Aang asked, genuinely interested.

Katara blushed and handed it to him. He was a little confused as to why she was so flustered. Aang grabbed the scroll and unrolled it and immediately blushed when he saw the title. Katara continued to avert her eyes. "It...uh...just happened to be the one I grabbed this morning."

"Um...do you...uh think it's a little early to be planning that?" Aang handed the scroll back to her.

"Probably, but I grabbed everything I could about the Air Nomads, including...that."

"Well, thanks for getting that. I have no knowledge of the subject."

"You're welcome."

"You know, we passed through the Misty Palms Oasis just after you did." Aang started.

"You did? Why didn't you come after us."

"I almost ran out into the desert by myself, but Iroh stopped me, saying it was far too dangerous."

"Oh...that must have been hard...being so close." Katara stated softly, grabbing Aang's hand and holding it in her own.

"It wasn't the first time. Omashu, the oasis, the ferry. But, it all paid off." Aang stated, twirling some of Katara's hair with his free hand.

Katara looked up into his eyes and pulled him down for a comforting hug and a brief kiss. "What's with the hair twirling?" She asked after she realized he had been doing it a while.

Aang pulled his hand away and blushed. "Sorry." He addeed meekly.

"No, it's all right." Katara assured.

"Okay." Aang started. "I really like what you've done with your hair."

Katara stood up quickly, to Aang's surprise. "Uggh." She grunted.

"What? Do _you_ not like it?" Aang panicked as he stood up as well.

Katara turned around to face him. "No. No. No. It's not that at all." She assured as she walked closer to him.

"Then what is it?" Aang asked.

"It's stupid." Katara waved her hand in dismissal as she walked into the kitchen.

"I'm stupid. I can handle it." Aang joked.

Katara laughed pretty loudly at his personal insult. "Suki said you would like my hair like this."

"Man, she has been spot on lately." Aang muttered in amazement.

"Yeah. She has." Katara finished.

"So, when do you wanna go on our date?" Aang asked a little nervously.

"I want to go now, but Sokka will through a hissy fit if we don't tell him where we are going."

"I thought we weren't going to tell him yet."

"All he is going to know is that we are going to the lake to waterbend."

"Okay, good." Aang replied in understanding. "So, we have to wait for him to get up, huh?"

"Yeah, which could be a while." Katara sighed in disappointment.

Aang made his way back over to the couch and sat down. He patted the spot next to him. "We can catch up then."

Katara smiled and joined him. She quickly made herself comfortable by leaning her head on his shoulder. "I am so happy right now, Aang."

"Me too." He replied. "I love you."

Katara lifted her head off of his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. Taking in his silver orbs, briefly before capturing his lips in a kiss. "I love you too."

They spent the next hour or so catching up on the 'adventures' both of them took and how it was all worth it in the end. They ended up cuddling on the couch a bit and continued with small talk and a few lazy kisses here and there. Eventually, they heard a door down the hall open up and they pushed themselves apart in case Sokka was the culprit.

Soon the person in question revealed themselves. "You two love birds can't seem to get enough of each other, can you?" Toph mocked.

Aang and Katara relaxed a bit. "Toph, be quiet. He might here you." Katara chided her in a whisper.

"Relax, Sugarqueen. He can't hear me." Toph put her hands up in defense. "You should probably get your last few kisses in now. I can feel him getting up." She warned.

"Thanks for the warning." Katara thanked before turning to Aang and kissing him lightly on the lips. "There'll be more later." She whispered into his ear. He smiled before she got up and began to prepare some food for everyone.

Soon, Sokka managed to stumble his way out into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and silently yawning. "MORNING SNOOZLES!" Toph yelled and punched Sokka in the arm.

"Ow. Not so loud okay." The warrior complained.

Katara shook her head. "Sokka, it's like ten in the morning."

"So...that's early for me." Sokka blew off the comment before he sat down at the dining table.

"Uh huh. I would like to hear you explain that one to dad." Katara retorted.

"Oh, ha...ha." Sokka mocked a laugh. He turned to Aang. "Why are you so smiley this morning?"

The question kind of caught Aang off guard. "Oh...just you."

Sokka scoffed. "You just got back and I am suddenly outnumbered even more."

"I'm just joking, Sokka. I just slept well last night and it's good to be back with you guys again." He replied with a smile.

"it's good to have you back buddy." Sokka smiled at him. Katara placed a plate in front of him with fruit and bread on it. "What? No meat." He looked at her.

"If you want some meat, go find some and cook it yourself." Katara jabbed her brother in the chest.

"Fine, I'll deal with it." Sokka took a bite from a peach. "So what's the plan today?"

"Well, Aang and I are going to a lake out in the agrarian zone and waterbend."

"Why do you need to waterbend?" Sokka mumbled through his full mouth.

"Because I haven't waterbended in months; I can hardly do it now." Aang replied sullenly.

"But why a lake? We have a fountain out back."

Aang and Katara briefly looked at each other. "So we can do some more advanced techniques that will require lots of space." Katara partially lied. It was true that they needed more space to do some of the more advanced techniques of waterbending, but it was more so they could be alone together.

"Twinkletoes and I are gonna have to do some earthbending at some point too." Toph chimed in.

"We can do that tomorrow, Toph. It may surprise you that I actually _have_ practiced earthbending quite a bit."

Toph punded her fist into her palm. "We better do it. It's been a while since I kicked somebody's butt."

"Well, I'm going to discuss things with Iroh about the invasion plan." Sokka added.

"Aren't you at all worried about the fact he was a Fire Nation general?" Toph asked.

"No, actually. I've read up on him, and he wasn't your typical Fire Nation general. He was sympathetic and well respected by everyone, including his enemies." Sokka paused to take another bite of fruit. "He's also a member of the White Lotus which is devoted to balance among the nations no matter the allegiances."

"Okay, that'll get us some progress on that front. We still need to meet the earth king." Katara added.

"I've been thinking about that." Toph stated. "I've been hearing all these floozy, upper class girls talking about this huge ball that is going to take place at the palace and that the Earth King will be there. I'm trying to figure out how we can get in."

"Good, we all have something to do today." Katara cheerfully added. They all got ready for the day quickly, eager to do what each wanted.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sokka had already made his way to the Jasmine Dragon when Aang and Katara finished up loading up their stuff for their 'waterbending practice' when Toph strolled over to them. "You two better behave." She teased.

Aang and Katara simultaneously blushed from the top of Appa's head. "Why would you care?" Katara asked teasingly.

"Because, I may tell Sokka if you don't." Toph stuck her tongue out at her friends.

"Okay, you have us there." Katara conceded.

"Have fun you two." Toph waved as she turned to walk back into their house.

Aang looked to his right to see the love of his life smiling softly at him. "Ready?" He asked.

Katara nodded. "Ready."

"Yip yip!" Aang commanded Appa. The great beast lurched into the air. Aang had deeply missed the feeling of flying in his separation from all his friends, human and animal alike. Aang set Appa's direction and commanded the beast to continue on until they reached the lake. "So what's the plan?" Aang asked.

Katara pulled some scrolls out from her back and unrolled them to reveal waterbending forms written on them. "In all seriousness, you do need waterbending training, even if we're calling this a date." She looked over to see understanding in his eyes. She loved his eyes. "We'll start with a warm up and then get into the more basic stuff that I taught you a long time ago, then we'll go until you get comfortable bending again. After that, I do want to teach you a more advanced move." Katara finished.

Aang watched as she continued to scan through the scrolls, occasionally moving her hair out of her face as the wind whipped it around. He smiled. "I love it when you're like this."

She looked at him quizzically. "Like what?" She asked.

"So devoted and passionate to achieve something." He stated simply. "It makes it even better that it's about me." He smirked.

"Oh...so it's all about you, huh?" Katara jokingly replied, catching on to Aang's little game.

"Sometimes it's about you." Aang replied.

"Sometimes? How often is it about me?" Katara asked teasingly.

"All the time, actually." Aang replied, sounding more sincere and honest than joking now. This took Katara by surprise.

"What do you mean?" She asked softly, seeing as how much this was affecting Aang at the moment.

"Everything I've ever done since the day I met you...I've done for you." He paused. "The only reason why I stay together under all this pressure, _is_ you." He looked at her with a sort of ashamed expression on his face. He looked down into his lap.

"Hey, come here." Katara wrapped her arm around his shoulder and pulled him close. "We all need somebody to depend on every once in a while." Katara paused for a moment. "The only reason _I_ keep fighting is because of you." Aang looked at her in utter surprise. "It's tough being an ordinary girl that suddenly gets dragged into fighting a war; you help me through it."

"I didn't realize it was like that for you to...I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I don't regret a single moment since coming with you." She smiled. "I finally got to master waterbending, see the world, and...well...fall in love."

Aang didn't know how to respond to what she just said, so he just said the first thing to come to mind. "I love you."

"I love you to." Katara briefly kissed him on the lips. She looked out in front of her. "It looks like we're almost there."

"Take us down, boy." Aang commanded Appa with some cheer in his voice.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"General Iroh, are you here?" Sokka's voice bellowed as he entered the Jasmine dragon.

"Over here, my boy." Came his reply from the kitchen. Iroh appeared through the door wiping his hands off with a towel. "What can I do for you?"

"I want some advise on the invasion I have planned. Katara doesn't want me to talk to you about it, because she still doesn't trust you and Zuko fully, but if you have Aang's trust, you also have mine."

"That's good to hear, though I am sorry about Katara. I can see she has a heart of gold, but I understand her wariness." Iroh paused as he saw the expression on Sokka's face: the boy seemed to be reflecting, which was true; he was thinking about his mother. "You wanted to talk?"

"Oh-um yes." Sokka snapped back to reality and began to pull out numerous scrolls he gathered from the great library. "We found out about 'the darkest day in Fire Nation history' which turned out to be an eclipse. Am I right in saying Firebenders can't bend during an eclipse?"

"That would be correct." Iroh rubbed his beard as he gathered all of this in.

"Well, my plan calls for an invasion of the Fire Nation on that day, but we only have a seven minute window." Sokka looked up to see if Iroh was listening.

"The Fire Nation Capitol is heavily guarded. You have to get through the Gates of Azulon well before you get near the mainland."

"I have an idea about that." Sokka pulled out a pencil and blank scroll and began to draw. "We'll have waterbenders create a layer of fog to cover out ships. I know Katara alone could cover a fleet, but the bigger the layer of fog, the better."

"And what if the fog cover doesn't work?"

Sokka eagerly rolled out plans. "Then I designed this to be built." He explained excitedly.

"What is that?" Iroh asked, pointing at the page in confusion.

"I know the design is a bit crude, but if it works, the invasion will be much easier to accomplish." Sokka started as unrolled the scroll more. "I call them submarines. They are completely sealed and can go underwater. They are propelled with waterbending, so that's another thing Katara will probably have to do."

"This is ingenious, but where will you get the material, and who will build such a thing."

"As for the material, I am still working on that. But I do know someone who can build this."

"This does sound very good. Now, what about when you reach the mainland?" Iroh asked.

"We'll have to reach the capital city, once we get there we have to calm the citizens and make sure no one runs out into the line of fire." Sokka hesitated on his next topic. Iroh had a sense of where it was going. "Aang will have to face the Fire Lord. And, if Azula is also there, she needs to be dealt with."

"Hmm." Iroh hummed.

"I know she's your niece but-"

"Oh, she _is_ crazy and needs to be stopped. But, I am too old to defeat her, and Zuko, I am afraid, simply isn't ready to face her alone."

They sat in silence for a few long moments before Sokka began speaking again. "I guess we'll have to figure that one out when the time gets closer."

"That is the only thing we can do. I am amazed you have put so much though and detail into this."

"Thank you, General Iroh."

"I am no General, just an old man who likes tea and once served in the military."

Sokka chuckled. "I think you and my dad would get along very well." He stated with a soft reminiscence of his childhood memories engrained in his voice.

"I am sorry about what this war has brought you and Katara." Iroh paused and then spoke softly. "Aang told me about your mother. I am so very sorry."

Sokka didn't respond immediately. He was surprised by the sincerity in Iroh's voice, and something else in his eyes; Iroh had also lost someone very close to him in this war. "You have nothing to apologize for, but I should get going. Toph said she had a plan about how to meet the earth king."

"I will let you go then." They both stood up. Iroh bowed. "It was a pleasure speaking with you."

Sokka bowed back. "Likewise."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Katara had been running through every move in the book she was ruthless in her training as they hadn't stopped once, but it came with outstanding results. Aang had picked waterbending back up rather quickly, and was through the basic and intermediate moves extremely fast, but he got bogged down a bit with the more advanced stuff. Katara wasn't being harsh or forceful, she was giving positive reinforcement. She just hadn't stopped the training once for a break, but they were nearly finished.

Aang was now at the eight-point octopus form, a move where he had gotten close many times but hadn't been able to divide his attention enough to do it correctly. His distractedness probably came from the fact that there was a beautiful girl directly across from him, and he was tired of training and just wanted to relax and enjoy his time with her. Indeed he was glad to be with her, but the endless training was wearing down his patience.

"I think you'll get it this time Aang. You just need to focus."

"I know, I know. Let's get this done." Aang took his stance and brought up eight tentacles around him.

Katara initiated the routine by throwing ice spikes towards him. He moved swiftly and graceful to deflect every one sent his way. Just after he deflected the final one, Aang caught Katara with her guard down. He launched a tentacle towards her, wrapped it around her right ankle and pulled her leg out from under her. Katara clumsily fell straight on her back into the ankle deep water.

Katara sputtered in surprise as she attempted to regain her sense of direction and stand up, but as soon as she propped herself up by placing her arms behind her, Aang was kneeling in front of her with a wide grin.

"Is that good enough?"

"I suppose it is, Pupil Aang." Katara replied with fake annoyance.

Aang placed his hand out for her to take, but when she grabbed it, Katara yanked him straight down on top of her. She kissed him passionately, for which he leaned in deeper. Katara was eventually lying flat on her back as they continued to kiss. When they broke away, though, they both blushed a cherry red as they realized the position they were in.

They both scrambled off of each other and stood up. Katara looked at Aang. She gave a soft chuckle. "I guess we're still getting used to this, huh?"

"Uh, huh." Aang gave a nervous chuckle.

In order to break the tension, Katara expressed an idea. "How about we just go swimming for a while."

Aang perked up and away from the awkwardness before. "That sounds great!" He yelled in excitement.

Katara and Aang swam out to the deepest part of the lake, which was very shallow: about fifteen feet or so. Once they were out in the middle of the lake, Aang and Katara just gazed into each other's eyes as they treaded water. Eventually, a smile came across Aang's face.

"What?" Katara asked in confusion as his look was kind of strange. A fleeting look of mischief flashed through his gray eyes as she asked this.

"Race you to the bottom!" He said quickly and dove down, far to quickly for it to be a fair race, but Katara followed suit.

As she swam deeper and deeper, Katara lost sight of Aang and eventually gave up on reaching the bottom in order to search for him. She was surprised when she felt muscular arms wrap around her waist. Her initial response would've been panic, if she didn't know it was just Aang. Aang spun her around so they were now face-to-face. He smiled, but Katara was trying to signal that she was running out of breath. With an odd twisting motion with his hand, Aang formed an air pocket around there heads.

Katara sucked in a breath and sighed in relief, but she had no time to 'relax,' for soon Aang's lips were on hers. Katara melted into and decided to make the most of this magical moment. She hesitated at first, but then she dared to run her tongue along Aang's lips, silently begging for them to open. To her great surprise, Aang allowed entrance. She explore his moth, and he explored hers, but they were soon out of air.

Aang wrapped one arm around Katara, and with on forceful push with his left hand, propelled them to the surface. They both heaved in air once they reached daylight. There was no need for words as they looked at each other lovingly; all they _could_ do was laugh joyousl.

It was like that until mid-afternoon. They swam in circles around each other, occasionally splashing the other and then sharing brief kissing and meaningful looks. They decided to call it quits around three o'clock. They made their way towards Appa.

The great beast held their towels, clothes, and food for the day. Food in which they forgot to eat thanks to their 'play time.'

"Man, I'm starving."

"Me too."

They finished drying off rather quickly. Aang put his shirt on, since that was all he took off along with his boots, and finished dressing quickly. Katara finished putting her robes back on as well.

The food they brought was simple: some assorted fruits and pastries. They leaned into Appa's tail and dug in. They ate in silence for a while, for there was no real need for words right now. They finished eating and laid in silence while they rolled onto their sides to look into each other's eyes. The both smiled happily.

"I love you, Aang."

"I love you too, Katara. Don't ever doubt that." Tears brimmed Katara's eyes as Aang said this, tears of joy and love. Aang leaned forward and kissed her softly.

Soon, however, they both yawned. Aang and Katara decided to ignore it, for they were too engrossd with each other's presence. Eventually sleep over came them.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sokka arrived back at their house at about mid-afternoon. As he walked in, he saw Toph lounging on the couch, nearly asleep. Sokka chuckled a bit at how uncomfortable she looked, but then again, she did sleep on rocks a lot. So, Sokka dismissed the 'uncomfortable' idea.

"Hey Toph!" Sokka yelled, hoping he would scare her. It didn't work.

"Why are you yelling?!" Toph yelled back just as loudly.

"Nothing." Sokka slumped in failure. "Did you figure out a plan to meet the earth king?"

"We have to crash a party, but yes."

"How'd you figure that out? And 'crash?'"

"Some nobles tried to lie to me about it for some reason, but I can tell when people are lying, so I 'pursuaded' them." Sokka looked confused. "I can sense if people are lying with earthbending."

"Oh." Toph then proceeded to explain that the earth king would be attending and that they would have to infiltrate the party.

"Sweet! Espionage."

" _You_ are not infiltrating." She replied.

"Why?"

"Because you have never been to anything this pompous. You have no manners and you don't have proper etiquette. Speaking of which, Aang isn't doing it either."

"What?! I have...I have-" Toph raised an eyebrow, waiting for what he was going to say. "Okay, you've got me there, but why not Aang?"

"He's the Avatar. He'll get noticed right away, and he doesn't have the etiquette to do it either."

"Where are he and Katara anyway? I thought they'd be back by now."

Toph was hoping this wouldn't get brought up; she most definitely didn't want to cover for them. "Bending practice takes a while, and from what Katara told me of Aang's bending, it wasn't good." Toph replied confidently.

"I guess you're right. But, what was with their faces this morning?" Sokka asked, referencing the fleeting looks and stares that Aang and Katara were giving each other all morning.

"Um...I'm blind, remember?"

"Right. Anyway, they were just looking at each other oddly."

Toph was slightly exasperated with his constant questioning, and was annoyed that he hadn't connected the pieces yet. If she had to cover them for much longer, she would lose her patience with the 'love birds.'

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Katara awoke dreamily to find Aang still across from her, but now, he was lying on his back and her arm was laying over his chest. Her eyes went wide in a panic as she noticed something: It was almost dark. She sat up quickly and shook Aang's shoulder in an attempt to rouse him.

"Wha-what?" Aang blinked rapidly trying to figure out what was going on. He soon figured it out as he saw the inky blue, dusk sky.

"We need to go, now!" Katara began to panic. They quickly packed there things up and boarded Appa, yearning him to fly. Once they were in the air, Aang began to relax, but Katara was the opposite. "If Sokka wasn't on to us now, he's definitely a whole lock closer to figuring it out."

"Toph will cover for us."

"It's pretty hard to cover for people for nine hours, Aang."

"We can still get around this. We just have to say we were worn out, we took a break and accidentally fell asleep. It's that simple." Aang smiled at Katara confidently. She shifted in her position on Appa's neck next to Aang.

"That might work." Katara replied, still a little skeptical.

After what felt like an eternity in the air, Appa landed rather abruptly in front of the house. Aang and Katara hopped off, and Aang told Appa to get some hay behind the house. It was completely dark outside when the couple reached the door, Katara fumbled around with finding the door knob before she finally opened the door. The door swung open to reveal both Sokka, standing with hands on his hips, and Toph, who had her arms crossed.

Katara quickly tried to explain themselves. "Sorry, we're late, but-"

"Late? LATE?!" Sokka yelled. "It's been ten hours, TEN, since you two left. I just don't even know where to BEGIN!" Sokka yelled the last word so loudly that it even surprised Toph.

"Let us explain, Sokka." Katara spoke soothingly in order to try and diffuse the situation.

Sokka still looked angry, but agreed anyway. "Fine." He said tartly.

"Aang and I had a lot of stuff to go over-" Katara started, but was soon interupted by Aang.

"Yeah, yeah. We went through every waterbending move in the book-" And now Katara interupted him, in a playful way.

"So it took us a long time to get through them all and...and-" Katara looked to Aang for some help. They really weren't good at this 'on-the-spot' thinking.

"And...weeee got really tired-" Aang drew out his sentence hoping to think of more to say.

"Yeah, so we took a break and um...both sort of fell asleep." Katara was relieved to have finally finished telling that mess of a story. She hoped to the spirits that Sokka believed them. But, all they got was silence on her brothers part.

It was a few tense moments before Sokka spoke. "Toph?"

"Yes, Sokka?" Toph replied in irritation, not towards him, but to the airbender and the waterbender.

"Are they telling the truth?" Sokka asked.

Katara was really confused. "Why are you asking her? She wasn't there." She asked irritably.

Sokka pointed his finger up in mock epiphany. "Oh. I didn't tell you?" Sokka was now being extremely sarcastic. "I learned today that our little Toph is a human lie detector. It's something that her skill in earthbending allows her to do." Sokka was gesturing towards Toph, and was now gesturing to Aang and Katara, who looked rather worried. They thought Toph was covering for them. "So, Toph. Are they telling the truth?"

Katara looked at Toph in an expectant manner, even though she knew the expression wasn't seen by the earthbender.

"No." Toph stated plainly.

"So why don't you two tell me what really happened?" Sokka asked. He already had a pretty good idea about why they were gone so long, but he was mad that they hadn't told him. HIM: _Her_ brother and _HIS_ best friend.

"You're a traitor." Aang's soft comment was directed at Toph.

"I warned you." She replied in a sing-song voice.

Sokka spoke sternly. "Tell me."

Katara started. "First off, it wasn't a complete lie." She sighed. "We did do every waterbending move, and we got tired and accidentally fell asleep." Katara looked Aang in the eyes and smiled softly before looking back at her brother. "We wanted to spend the day with each other and relax. Just _us._ " Sokka's expression softened at his sister's tone of voice.

"We're sorry we didn't tell you earlier." Aang chimed in, not wanting Katara to do the explaining all alone. She smiled at him.

"It just happened so fast...but-" She looked at Aang again and grabbed his hand. "We're in love." She finished, but she noticed Sokka looked sad.

"Look, I'm really happy for you two. But, why did you wait to tell me last?"

"But we never said that."

"But I am, aren't I?" His voice was soft, and disappointed.

Katara couldn't rebuke that. He was right. She looked down at her feet, ashamedly. "I'm sorry."

"But, why?" Sokka asked. At this point, Toph went outside to leave this 'family discussion' alone. Again, though, Sokka's voice was sad.

"We never meant to hurt you feelings." Aang replied.

"But you did." Sokka stated plainly. "We're a family. Families trust each other. Families support each other, and they never lie to each other. So, why?"

"Because we didn't know how you'd respond." Katara started. "We didn't know if you'd support _us_ or not. And we can't be...you know...free around you. You'd always be teasing us. You'd never let us do anything 'loving' around you."

"But I _do_ support you two!" Sokka yelled. "Katara, you were a mess for three months while Aang was gone, but he's back, and now this is the happiest I've seen you since...since ever." He explained further. Aang was purely amazed at what Sokka was saying. "Sure, I may tease..." He continued "...but it's just for a laugh. And I am okay if you two are expressive, but keep it at a minimum."

Katara ran forward and embraced Sokka in a tight hug. "Thanks, Sokka!"

Sokka petted her sister on the back. "I just want you to be happy." A few tears fell from Katara's eyes at this. She left her embrace of her brother and signaled Aang that she was going to bed. Aang nodded, as Sokka was now approaching. "I want a hug too."

Aang complied and gave Sokka a quick hug. "Thank you, Sokka."

"Just treat her right."

"I will." And with that Aang headed to his room.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Katara couldn't sleep. The excitement from the day kept her up. That, and the long nap she took was easily another factor. She then heard a knock on her window shudders. She was confused, and then scared. Who or what would be knocking on her window.

"W-who's there?" Katara asked shakily

"It's me." Came Aang's voice.

"What are you doing?" She replied, both amazed and confused.

"Couldn't sleep. I think falling asleep earlier has something to do with it."

"Me too." She pondered something for a moment. "Why'd you come through the window?" She looked at him curiously.

"I don't think Sokka would like me in here." He said. "So this way my door is locked.

"Okay. D-do...would you like to join me?" She asked, gesturing towards the bed.

"Um...uh...sure."

Aang crawled in next to Katara. They sat up against the head board with Katara leaning her head on his shoulder. The talked for a long time, well into the early hours of the morning. But, even with all of their energy from the days' events, sleep over came them as they lightly embraced under the covers.

 **Sorry for the Abrupt ending, but I needed to give you guys something. Next chapter with start where we left off. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review.**


	15. Chapter 15: Not All Sunshine and Roses

**Sorry for the wait guys. Life has been super busy, and it hasn't been a good year for my family. But, now this is a new year and I am going to try and get back on track with my stories. I also have plans for future stories that I want to start, one in which I already posted the first chapter. I also want to share that the rating of this story may change to a higher one at some point in the future. I want to thank all of you so much for your patience, so here we go...**

 **We last left off with Aang coming into Katara's room through the window, so Sokka wouldn't get suspicious.**

 **As always, your reviews are greatly appreciated and always give me motivation to keep writing.**

Chapter 15: Not All Sunshine and Roses

Aang and Katara awoke to a loud banging noise. They both shot upright with a start. The two lovers looked at each other and instantly blushed, now fully realizing that they had just slept in the same bed together. The banging continued; this time it was louder and followed by a voice.

"Katara!" Sokka's voice rang from outside her door. Aang and Katara just now realized that the banging was Sokka knocking.

"Just a minute!" Katara yelled back.

Meanwhile, Aang as frantically trying to get out through the window. He was successful, but he forgot one small thing. As Katara turned around after shutting the shudders behind him, she noticed his shirt lying on her bed. She panicked, and realized that she had to hide it quickly so she hid it under her covers.

Sokka banged on the door again. Katara went to it and opened it frustratingly. "What?!"

"Have you seen Aang?" Sokka asked, suspicious of his sister.

Katara was confused and a bit shocked that he asked this. "Um...no. Why are you asking me? I just woke up. What time is it anyway?"

"I'm asking you because you're his girlfriend and he won't answer his door." Katara blushed at that statement. Her and Aang hadn't actually decided on labeling it. She also blushed at the hidden meaning behind what he said. "Also, it's almost noon. That isn't like you."

Katara looked down at her feet. "Uh Sorry I had trouble falling asleep last night." It was a partial truth. Falling asleep during mid day probably didn't help. " She pondered for a moment with a finger on her chin, trying to be convincing. "And as to where Aang is, he's probably meditating." She looked at her brother, who was counting through the list of places he's checked, slightly moving his mouth while doing so.

Finally givng up on counting, he spoke. "That's what I thought, but I couldn't find him anywhere." Sokka grunted in frustration.

"Have you tried the roof?" Katara asked. It was on a complete whim. She was just trying to delay her brother.

Sokka looked at her like she was stupid or something. "Why would he be on the roof?" He asked, extremely befuddled.

He had her there, so she made something up. "He told me he likes to meditate in high places, and-" She was interrupted by the gentleman in question.

"Morning, Sokka!" Aang said happily from behind the water tribe warrior. He was listening in on the conversation and decided to bail Katara out. "What's going on?" He acted confused.

The water tribe warrior looked back at the airbender. "Where have you been?!" He asked in frustration.

"Meditating on the roof." Aang stated plainly.

"Told you." Katara said in a sing-song voice, extremely grateful for Aang finally deciding to show up.

Sokka shot a glare at his sister then turned back to Aang. "We need to make plans on meeting the earth king. Now get your butt dressed and meet me at Iroh's. Toph is already there." The young man turned and walked down the hallway.

"Okay. See you in a bit." Aang bid farewell to Sokka. Aang waited until he was well out of earshot. "Good morning, Katara." He greeted her in a playful tone. "You're welcome."

"For what?!" Katara felt insulted.

"For saving you from Sokka." Aang stated plainly.

Katara crossed her arms. "Oh please. I had it completely under control." She said cockily.

"Really? Meditating on the roof?" Aang was now just teasing her, asking her in a very questionable tone.

"Well, what else am I gonna say?" Katara asked rhetorically. "Oh by the way Sokka, Aang and I slept in the same bed. He should be coming through his window any second now." She said this as if she was Aang, making funny little mannerisms and deepening her voice. Aang just chuckled. She turned around and grabbed something, then threw it to Aang. "Next time, don't forget your shirt."

Aang was a little shocked. "Next time?" He asked with a raised brow and a blush.

"Yes. I said next time." Katara smiled shyly before moving on. "I'll meet you in the living room before we head over to Iroh's."

"Okay. Sounds like a plan." Aang agreed as he turned back into his room, shutting the door so he could wash up and get changed. He sat on the bed and smiled. Everything was perfect.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sokka arrived at Iroh's with Toph already there waiting at a table with a cup of tea sitting there. Iroh was busy in the back, despite his decision to stay closed today. Sokka popped a seat at the table with Toph, sitting across from her.

Zuko greeted him rather awkwardly. "Hi, Sokka."

Sokka looked at the banished prince as if he had just said the stupidest thing ever. "You know, it's gonna take me a while to get used to this. After the trying to kill us a few times thing."

"Yeah I know, but I we got to start somewhere." Zuko explained. "What kind of tea would you like?"

"You know, you're royalty so why are you waiting on me-oh wait you're bansihed so you're technically not-"

"Just answer the question!" Zuko stated rather angrily, just wanting Sokka to stop rambling. Toph laughed at this.

"Oh um...Jasmine tea I guess." Sokka mumbled.

"Great choice!" Iroh bellowed from behind the counter. Zuko proceeded to walk back to his uncle to gather the tea. In the meantime, Toph started a conversation.

"So, the two love birds out of bed yet?"

"Please don't call them that. I may have accepted that, but it doesn't mean I have to like hearing about it

"Just answer the stupid question."

"Yes they are." Sokka grunted. "Took me forever to find Aang though. Apparently he was meditating on the roof."

"Sure he was." Toph replied sarcastically.

"What did you say?!" He asked angrily.

Toph somewhat regretted saying that, but also now enjoyed the opportunity of teasing Sokka. "Oh, nothing." She smirked.

"No, Toph. What were you implying?" He pressed further.

"I wasn't implying anything." The earthbender stated flatly, as if nothing happened.

"Why I oughta-"

"Don't even go there Captain Boomerang." She made a serious face. "Do you really think you can beat me?"

Sokka huffed and crossed his arms. "At a reading contest." He mumbled. With that statement he got the mother of all kicks to the shin. He yelled in pain. "S-shouldn't have said that." He squeaked.

"No you shouldn't have.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Aang waited patiently in the living room for Katara. He stood, fiddling with his fingers while looking at his shoes. He was trying to comprehend everything; everything was moving so fast that his mind couldn't keep up. _We already slept in the same bed_. He thought as he began to question what they were doing and if they were doing it too fast. He was suddenly yanked from his thought, however, as the girl in question called to him.

"Hey Aang." She greeted, noting how he was sporting a sleeveless vest-like shirt that revealed his growing arm muscles. She briefly admired him as he was admiring her. He just stood there looking at her. She was still wearing her normal water tribe getup, but her leggings were now cut at the knees since they were burned and she had her hair let down. They both just stood there, gawking at each other until Katara broke out of her trance first. "A-Aang?" She stuttered, just now realizing that they were staring at each other.

"Uh...yeah?" Aang broke from his trance, engaging his slate-gray eyes with her sapphire ones.

She smiled warmly at him. "You ready to go?"

"Uh huh." Aang answered with a mumble, still not fully concentrating. His mind was still on his earlier thoughts.

Katara noticed he that he looked troubled. "Is everything all right?"

"Oh, um...yeah. Just thinking." He answered, still unsure about everything.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" She asked.

Aang sighed. "Well...it pertains to us." He gave her a look signifying that he meant the two of them and not as Team Avatar as a whole.

"Oh...um. All the more reason to talk then." She answered, a little nervous about the subject. She sat down on the couch and patted a spot next to her as a signal for Aang to join her. He did, but eyes locked on his shoes for a few moments, making Katara even more uncomfortable.

"I-I...I don't know. I shouldn't have brought it up." Aang said quickly, wishing he never said anything. He began to stand, but was stopped by Katara gently, yet firmly grabbing his wrist. He turned to look at her, seeing worry in her eyes. She didn't even have to ask; he sat back down immediately. Aang sighed. "D-do you think we're moving too fast?" He asked softly, meeting her eyes with an intense look of wariness.

Katara was a little shocked to hear him asked this, but understood what he was getting at. "It's about last night isn't it?"

"I mean, we've only been together a day and we already slept in the same bed." Aang let go of his grip on Katara, standing up and beginning to pace. "We can't do that, Katara. It's not right!" He was getting frustrated.

"Aang, it's okay. I understand." She said calmly, trying to hold back her sadness that he was already beginning to second guess their relationship.

He noticed the look on her face. "I'm sorry." He plopped down on the couch again. "I guess all I'm saying is that we should wait a while before sharing a bed." He looked at her with anticipation.

She smiled warmly at him. "That's perfectly fine. As long as we're both comfortable."But Aang knew her too well.

"But it's not what you want, is it?"

Katara looked down in shame. "It's just that I've missed you so much. I want to be close to you. "

"I missed you to, Katara. So much. But I don't think we're readyfor that." Katara felt hurt by his words. _Why is this upsetting me so much?_ She thought. No matter how hard she tried to hold it back, she was becoming irrational.

"So it's about you then is it?!" She spat angrily.

Aang was shocked and saddened by what he just heard. "What?" He huffed. "I never said that!"

Katara realized that she had overreacted. "Aang, I'm so-"

"No." He said sternly. "Don't apologize." Katara then hung her head in shame. "It was a misunderstanding, so I think we should put it behind us and head to Iroh's." He said softly, trying to calm the beautiful waterbender in front of him.

She sighed then locked eyes with him. "You go on ahead. I'll catch up." She said softly.

"Katara?" Aang was now scared.

"It's okay. I just want some time to think."

Aang was now extremely worried that he had already messed this all up. "O-okay." He stuttered. He slowly made his way to the front door. As he pushed it open, he dared a glance back at Katara. He saw her, still sitting on the couch looking at her hands in her lap. Aang sighed and shut the door softly behind him.

The wank to Iroh's was agonizing. All Aang though about was the different scenarios that could come out of this. And in the meantime, all Katara was doing was thinking over what she'd done.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Aang's here." Toph yelled, sensing the light footsteps of the airbender approaching. "But Sugarqueen's not with him."

Sokka turned his head to the door as Aang walked in, noticing the boy was downcast. "Hey, Aang. Where's Katara?"

"She said she'd be here in a bit." Aang replied quietly as he took a seat with Toph and Sokka.

Toph immediately knew something was wrong. "And why didn't you two come together?" She asked.

Aang sighed. "We had a bit of an argument." He said sadly, staring at the table.

Zuko was arriving at the table to give Aang his jinseng tea. "Don't worry. Those things happen in relationships." The firebender stated wisely.

"I know, but this is our second day together as a couple. I'm just worried."

"What was the argument about?" Sokka asked, genuinely concerned for his friend, and sisters, position.

"I'd rather not say." Aang noticed Sokka gave him a questioning look. "It's personal."

"Aang...!" Sokka began, implying something totally different. Aang caught on immediately.

Aang blushed profusely. "No no no. It was nothing like that." He explained quickly. "Can we just drop it please."

An awkward silence hung in the air. After a few minutes of small discussion about the plan for the group to gate crash a part, Katara walked in. She noticed the weird looks her way, telling her that the others knew about the argument. She didn't blame Aang for telling them. Sokka did have a tendency to over step his bounds and press people into telling.

She walked over and sat across from Aang, to the right of Sokka. She gave Aang a reassuring smile and a nod, signifying that everything was all right. However, Aang still wanted to talk, but didn't get the chance to pull her to the side before Sokka broke the awkward silence by continuing to talk about the plan.

"So...I guess I should give Toph the credit for this plan."

"Yeah you better." Toph cocked her head back in confidence.

"Yeah. Anyway, Katara..." He looked at her sister. "You and Toph are going to infiltrate the party."

"Why me and Toph."

"Because, unlike Twinkletoes and Meathead, you can act properly in a high class society."

"I can act properly." Aang interjected.

"Haha. No." Toph mocked. "Katara and I will get in. I will use my Beifong I.D." She explained. "Once inside, Katara and I will let you two in the back disguised as bus boys."

"Bus boys?" Aang felt slightly insulted.

"Yes. Bus boys." Toph confirmed.

"Don't worry Aang." Katara smiled at him, to which he smiled back, feeling more relieved about the earlier argument. "Okay. So when is this party?" She asked.

"Tomorrow night, which gives me plenty of time to make sure Katara is up to snuff on her etiquette."

"All right. Sounds like a plan." Aang added, finishing the discussion.

Sokka stood up to go talk to Iroh, while Toph stayed with Aang and Katara. Aang gave Katara a look and motioned his head towards the patio of the tea shop that looked over Ba Sing Se. Katara nodded and both of them stood up to make their way outside. Once there, they stood near the railing, Katara leaning over it and looking at the gorgeous view.

"I'm sorry about earlier." Katara said softly. "I was being selfish and I overreacted." She added frustratingly, pounding her fist slightly on the railing. Aang just watched her intently with a soft look in his eyes. Katara turned her gaze to his. "I'm sorry if I worried you. I just wanted time to think about my actions."

"It's okay, Katara. I completely understand. I probably shouldn't have brought it up in the first place." He consoled.

"No no." Katara chuckled slightly. "We were gonna have to talk about it eventually, so sooner was probably better than later."

"Yeah. I guess so." Aang finished, staring deep into her blue eyes. She stared back with a soft, loving glow.

 _Meanwhile,_

"Sure looks like they're getting things sorted out." Sokka stated as he turned his attention to Zuko, who was now wiping the counter.

"I think they're sorting out more than just that..." Zuko said ominously, gesturing towards the couple outside with his head.

Sokka turned and wanted to run out there and stop what they were doing right then, but Zuko grabbed his arm, stopped him and shook his head.

Aang and Katara were in a passionate kiss; one more passionate then any to this point. They pressed their lips hard together. Then suddenly, Katara felt something she never thought Aang would do. He ran his toung across her lower lip, asking for entrance. Katara's eyes shot open in surprise, but soon relaxed as she accepted his request. Their tongues dance with each other for a few moments as Aang moved his hands from her mid-back to reasting on her hips. Katara squirmed a little under his soft touch. She pressed forward more, now making Aang's head tilt back. But they continued until the need for air took over. They separated slowly, not wanting the moment to stop. They stared lovingly into each other's eyes, blushing slightly at what they had just done. In front of everybody, no less.

Aang slowly removed his hands form her waist, as she removed hers from his shoulders. They smiled at each other before Aang offered his hand. Katara happily grasped it as they made their way back inside, slightly embarrassed by the whole thing. As they walked through the door, the couple noticed the steady glare from Sokka.

"Great job, you just scarred Sokka." Toph stated flatly. Aang and Katara blushed yet again.

"Don't ever do that again." Sokka said sternly.

"Oh don't worry. We will." Katara stated with annoyance in her voice. Aang struggled to hold in his laughter as he covered his mouth. He loved watching her take command of the situation over Sokka.

"What are you laughing at?!'

Aang dropped his hands to his sides, still struggling to contain his chuckles. "N-nothing."

"Oh, just stop with the bickering!" Toph yelled. "I'm sorry but Katara, I need to borrow your boyfriend for some earthbending training."

"That's okay. I would love to watch actually." Katara said proudly. "Sokka, you gonna join us?" She turned to her disgruntled brother.

"Sure." He grunted.

"Zuko, you want to come?" Aang asked without realizing that Katara absolutely resented the idea. He heard her huff to his left; he gave her a look saying that she should trust both himself and Zuko. She just crossed her arms, but he took it as a 'yes.'

Zuko watched all of this unfold, but once he saw a nod from Aang he agreed. "Sure." He turned to his uncle. "Will you be okay without me?"

"Of course I will. I'm not that old." He chuckled. "You kids go and have your fun."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The group eventually found themselves in the very same place that Aang and Katara had come the day before. Momom was extremely pleased with the site as he was already enjoying skimming his feet through the water as everyone else disembarked. Sokka helped Toph off of Aappa, while Aang suddenly swooped Katara up bridal style and leaped off of the great beast. He set her down gently. She thanked him with a small kiss on the cheek.

"Are you going to do that all the time now?" She asked.

He smirked at her. "Maybe."

"You know my legs do work."Katara informed.

"I know." He smiled.

"So, Twinkeltoes, you ready to get your butt whooped!?" Toph pounded her fists together in excitement.

"Oh, I am so looking forward to this." Sokka exclaimed with glee, wanting nothing more but revenge on what he had witnessed earlier.

"I'll be sure to give you a good show." Aang replied, fully confident that he'll be able to knock the rust off quickly.

Zuko felt a little out of place with all of Aang's friends even though he got along fine with Zuko and Toph, so he decided to try and join in. "Trust me, Toph: He's been practicing."

"Oh really. So what you're saying is I shouldn't go easy on him?" Toph asked rhetorically.

"Thanks, Zuko." Responded an apprehensive Aang.

Zuko felt bad for putting all of that on Aang. "Sorry." He said mutely while rubbing the back of his neck.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Toph's training was relentless. She was putting the young airbender through everything she had done in his initial training.

Sokka, Zuko and Katara all sat on a log that was near the water. Katara watched intently as Aang went through drill after drill, occasionally sparring with Toph in small exercises. Katara couldn't keep her eyes off of the young airbender. He had grown strong since they'd been separated. He was still thin, but had lean muscle that covered his entire body, particularly his torso. However, Katara noticed how Aang would sometimes look at her in the same way. She blushed at the thought.

"Are you just gonna go all oogley-eyed on Aang all day, or are you going to answer my question?" Asked an irritated Sokka, causing a small chuckle from Zuko.

Katara sputtered, looking around for the source of the noise. "Huh...what?"

"I was wondering if you wouldn't mind telling me what you and Aang argued and/or talked about earlier?" Sokka asked.

"She's not going to tell you." Zuko stated plainly.

Sokka was flabbergasted. "What?! Why? I'm her brother." He guffawed.

Zuko shook his head and laughed. "How do you even have a girlfriend if you understand women this little?"

"And what, you do?" Sokka asked, annoyed.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do." Zuko replied with a hint of bravado.

Katara was a little proud of what Zuko was doing. _Maybe he isn't too bad after all._ She thought. "Thanks, Zuko."

He was surprised by her gratitude. He gave her a nod and a smile in appreciation.

"Anyway, what are the three of us going to do?" Sokka asked.

"I don't know." Zuko voiced his thoughts nonchalantly.

"I've got an idea." Katara started, drawing the interest of the two boys next to her. "Zuko, would you mind sparring?" She was just bored, and made a suggestion that would be both fun for her and to show Zuko that she was also trying to become friends. _Also to show what I can do._ She thought semi-maniacally.

Suddenly, they heard a massive bang only to realize that Aang had literally dropped what he was doing and stomping his way over. "WHAT?!" He yelled.

Katara immediately knew why Aang was acting this way, and regretted the suggestion. But, she wanted to do it and if Aang trusted Zuko so much, it wouldn't be a problem. "Aang, it's..." Katara sighed and looked to everyone else. "Can you guys give us a minute?" Everyone else quickly left them to discuss this. Katara's gaze followed everyone, but when she turned to look back at Aang in front of her, he was on the verge of crying. "Aang?"

"I-I'm sorry I yelled." He sniffled. "I'm just concerned for your safety."

"It's okay Aang." She brought him into a hug and sat him down on the log next to her. "I thought you were over this?"

"I'm always worried about the ones I love when it comes to firebending. Even with how much I trust Zuko, you're not a firebender. You won't be able to deflect or absorb his bending like firebenders can.." He pulled away from her embrace and settled his elbows on his knees, holding his head in his head.

The love in Katara's heart swelled to a new level, seeing how concerned he was. "I understand." She stated lovingly, giving him a small peck on the cheek. He sat up and looked her in the eyes again, getting lost. "But I want to do this. And besides, I think Zuko needs his butt kicked." She smiled cockily.

Aang sighed in defeat. "Okay. I guess it will be a good show then."

"You bet it will." She pulled him in for a short but meaningful kiss. He beamed at her.

Aang proceeded to walk over to where Zuko and Sokka had joined Toph, all of them a bit worried about what Aang had to say. However, Sokka was deeply impressed and happy to see how protective Aang was of his sister. Aang stopped in front of them and looked to Zuko. "She really wants to duel you." He stated with a slight smile. "I'm okay with it, but I don't want anything to get out of hand." He continued, sounding stern.

Zuko understood, as Aang had recited the story of how he burned Katara a few times. Zuko also understood that Aang was hesitant because of his temperament and competitiveness. Katara slowly joined the group, walking up behind an oblivious Aang. "I'll be careful." Zuko directed his statement towards the waterbender behind Aang.

"Ha. You don't need to be careful." She replied with cockiness and a chuckle. Aang turned to look at her, a little worried now that she said that yet admiring her confidence. "I don't want you to hold back." She exclaimed with a certain amount of bravado in her tone.

"Katara?" Aang and Zuko questioned at the same time.

"I'll be fine. You'll step in if things start getting out of hand, so I have nothing to worry about."She stated proudly.

Aang and Sokka shared a questioning glance.

Zuko pondered for a moment. "Let's do it." Excited as he was for the opportunity, all he really wanted was to prove himself to her.

"All right, but one sign of _either_ of you going too far or getting hurt, I'm stepping in." He looked at the two of them. "Got it?"

"Got it." Said the two warriors simultaneously.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The stage was set. Fire versus water. Katara stood by the water's edge, despite her having the water skin. She kicked off her shoes so she could feel the water in the earth. Zuko assumed the standard pre-agni kai position, kneeling with his fist pressed firmly against the ground. He took deep breaths to calm himself and to feel the fire within himself. He stood and turned to his opponent and bowed. She returned it. Zuko assumed his fighting stance, right leg in front with his hands in ready position. Katara assumed her octopus form, keeping her hands moving as she did so.

The signal was heard. "Fight!" Yelled Toph.

Zuko led the duel, being the more offensive of the two. He started off slow, simply shooting fire blasts from his fists. However, he was surprised for after Katara blocked the first couple of blasts, she let down her defensive stance and pulled water beneath her feet. She froze it solid and began to surf across it to get around Zuko. As she circled him, she shot snowballs; she would've used ice spikes, but those could seriously hurt him. He easily absorbed the shots, holding his arms in close to protect against the firm impacts. Eventually, he dropped to ground level, doing spinning fire kicks. The flames shot out in a circle around him, hitting the wave of ice Katara was riding, breaking it up and launching her through the air. She quickly recovered with a roll and assumed yet another defensive stance, holding water over her arms and around her shoulders. She fired the spout of water and grabbed a hold of Zuko's arm, thrashing him to the side. He couldn't think of a way out of this, so out of instinct he shot a fireball at Katara, forcing her to take defensive action and releasing him from her grip.

Aang's heart stopped when Zuko did this, but smiled in admiration as Katara easily defended against this attack. She quickly recovered, but now Zuko had turned the tide and was now riding his own wave of fire around her. She again assumed the octopus form, swatting and absorbing fire blasts yet again. However, fatigue was now getting the better of the. Attacks became erratic and defensive moves became even less precise. Aang noticed this, but when he moved forward to stop the duel he was met by a pair of blue eyes that screamed at him 'No!' He backed up and looked on worriedly as the furious concoction of fire and water continued. As the two duelist realized that their bending was beginning to fail them, they began to close the gap in order to engage in hand to hand combat. Aang had seen something in Katara's eys: a fire and rage that he had never seen before. She was losing control of herself, and wanted payback on Zuko despite her recent tolerance of him. She wanted to hurt him.

"Toph, we need to stop this." Aang said urgantly, turning to her and grabbing her shoulder

"Why? This is good." Sokka stated.

"I saw something in Katara's eyes."

"In her eyes? What are you talking about." Sokka asked.

"She's starting to lose control." Exclaimed Aang in a hurry.

"What?!" Toph asked exasperatedly.

Aang was beginning to panic. "She wants to hurt Zuko, and I don't want to find out how he's going to retaliate." Toph hesitated. "Toph! Stop the fight!"

"Fine!." She scoffed, stomping on the ground and sending a rock wall up betweein the two duelist. Little did the three spectators know, Katara was mid-swing on a punch she was throwing at Zuko. Her fist hit the wall with a tremendous amount of force. She screamed in agony.

Aang looked on in horror as she gripped at her wrist. He ran over and knelt beside her. "Why'd you stop the fight?!" She asked, adrenaline still coursing through her veins. She was panting heavily as well.

Aang sighed, but understood. "Is your hand okay?" He asked with sincerity.

The question shocked Katara at first, but was deeply grateful for his concern. She winced as she tried to bend her fingers. "It's-it's not broken." She panted. "Nothing some ice...won't fix." Katara took a few moments to catch her breath. By this time, Toph had receded the rock wall back into the earth. Zuko was also sitting on the ground attempting to catch his breath. Toph and Zuko also ran over. "You haven't answered my question."She stated flatly, not meeting her lovers eyes.

"If _we_ wouldn't have stopped it, Zuko might have a broken jaw right now." He stated, trying to be calm yet stern.

Katara looked at Aang worryingly and then back to Zuko, who still wore a look of shock on his face for what had happened. Katara looked around her feet in a fit, trying to figure out what happened and what she was thinking. "Oh my." She gasped as realization struck her. Her body began to shake. Aang pulled her into a tight hug, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I-I'm so sorry." She choked in an attempt to hold back tears.

"It's okay. Nothing happened." Aang comforted. Zuko stood up, amazed by Katara's ferocity and then (he couldn't quite put the word on it) _kindness_ he thought. Katara then pulled away, looked Aang deeply in the eye and nodded. Aang understood the sign and helped her off the ground.

Katara looked to Zuko. "I'm sorry, Zuko." She apologized, but to her surprise, Zuko responded with a bow.

He smiled. "You fought well."

"Aren't you mad that I tried to punch you?" She asked, shock clear in her voice.

He gave a light-hearted chuckle. "Kind of. But I figure that I probably would have deserved it though."

Everyone chuckled, savoring the new, light-hearted mood. "I must say..." Sokka started. "That was quite spectacular to watch."

"Agreed." Aang beamed as he grasped the hand of the waterbender beside him. "That was quite amazing, although, you two did create a lot of fog. I can't see Appa and Momo." Everyone followed his gaze, Appa and Momo were a fair distance from everyone doing their own thing. They now all noticed that it was hard to see twenty feet in front of them. "APPA!" Aang yelled. A large rumble replied along with the giant beasts silhouette coming through the steam, quickly surpassed by Momo. "There you two are."

Momo swiftly flew over to Aang's shoulder, licking his master. But the liittle creature saw that Katara was in some pain and decided to stick with her for the time being. Momo landed on her right shoulder. She reached up with her non-injured left hand and patted his head. "Hey Momo." She greeted.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think it's time we head back." Sokka suggested.

Aang nodded. "Probably not a bad idea, especially since Katara needs to give her hand some time to heal." He gestured to Katara who was now putting pressure onto her swelling hand.

"Seriously Aang, I'm fine." She protested.

Aang sighed. He knew she would never say otherwise. "In either case, it's getting late."

"Okay, let's pack up." Sokka commanded.

They packed up quickly. As everyone climbed aboard Appa, Aang wrapped his right arm around Katara's waist and swiftly jumped into the air, landing gently on Appa's head. "I love it when you do that." Katara beamed at the unbelievable gentleman beside her.

"I only do it because I love you." Aang replied and closed the gap with her in a quick, gentle kiss.

"UGGGHH!" Sokka moaned from behind them. "Can't you two-Ahh never mind." He grunted in frustration at the couple.

Aang and Katara simply smiled at each other, of course when the blush went away. "Appa, Yip Yip!"

Once in the air, everyone settled in for the hour or so ride back to Ba Sing Se. However, Aang and Katara were being, well, Aang and Katara. They talked quietly so no one else would hear

"Thanks for not being mad at me back there."

"Why would I be mad?" Asked Aang, confused.

"Because you warned us about going too far and...well...I went too far." She looked down in her lap.

"You didn't though. Toph stopped you, and you realized your mistake." He comforted, pulling her closer.

"I-I just feel bad about it all." She sighed. "And my hand hurts." She pouted with fake annoyance.

"Once we get back, I can heal the bruises and swelling and then you should ice it."

"Aang..." She chuckled, leaning into him. "I can heal the bruises myself."

"I know, but I want some practice at healing...and well..." He blushed slightly. All he wanted was some alone time with her, and that was his chance at getting it.

She blushed in response. "Well...okay then. I guess you should practice then."

He smiled shyly. Soon, though they arrived at Iroh's tea shop. Zuko hopped off and bid the others farewell. He smiled inwardly as they left. He couldn't believe how much fun he had today. He hadn't had fun in a long long time.

The others soon arrived at the house. The sun was setting and was casting a beautiful orange hue across the sky. Aang again grabbed hold of Katara and hopped off, while Sokka assisted Toph. They all walked in and went their own ways. Sokka went with Toph to find some food while Aang followed Katara into her room to help her with her now swollen hand.

"Hey!" Sokka yelled. "What do you think you're doing, lover boy?!"

Aang froze in the doorway. "Just going to help with Katara's hand. It shouldn't be too long."

Katara poked her head out, holding her swollen hand to try and ease the pain. "Sokka, can you please stop with this?"

Sokka grumbled. "Fine! But if you take too long, I'm coming."

"That sounds perfectly fair, Sokka." Aang replied. Katara was about to protest, but decided that Sokka was just looking out for her.

The couple walked in and Aang closed the door behind him. Katara had sat down on a small stool to tak her shoes off. Aang walked over to her, once she finished he spoke. "Let me see your hand." He commanded softly. He kneeled down as Katara presented her hand. He held it softly in his, brushing his thumb across the back of her hand. He squeezed slightly in order to get a reaction. She winced slightly. "Did that hurt?" He asked.

"A little." Replied Katara softly.

"Let me go get some water." Aang proceeded to walk out of her room, down the hall and into the kitchen. Sokka and Toph were eating. He received a questioning look from the water tribe warrior. "Her hand is fine. Just grabbing some water to heal it." He quickly explained as he filled a bowl with water with the water skin that was left on the counter. Once finished he returned to Katara, bringing some fruit with him for her to eat. He again shut the door behind him. She remained in the same spot.

He kneeled before her. "Thank you for doing this, Aang."

"Of course." He smiled. "Now hold out your hand." She did as requested. Aang surrounded hands with the water, calling the glow to him. Once this happened he held her hand in his, slowly massaging it. A sigh escaped Katara's mouth. "Does that feel better?"

"Much."

"Good." He smiled as he noticed the swelling start to go down. To his surprise, after a short while the swelling was completely gone. He pulled his hands away.

"Doesn't look like I need to ice it." She looked at her hand and then rubbed it softly.

"I guess not." He sighed.

She was looking at him. He noticed something in her eyes, but before he could properly think it through, she had grabbed hold of his tunic and yanked him forward. Their lips smashed together as the heat around them began to rise. Aang soon cradled her jaw softly, yearning for more. As she held her firm grip on his hirt, her other hand rested on his muscular chest. She began to somewhat explore his torso, relishing in the feel of the heat beneath his clothes. He squirmed slightly beneath her touch, but soon moved his hand to her toned stomach and gripped at her oblique's. Suddenly, he felt her tongue asking permission to enter, to which he granted. They began to move quickly, their tongues dancing as their hands did the same. But, the need for air again took over. They slowly pulled apart, relishing in the closeness of their faces. The kiss felt amazing, but they began to understand that it was more than just a kiss; it was an expression of their unrelenting passion and love for each other. They rested their foreheads together.

"I love you, Aang."

"I love you too, Katara." They sat there, staring into each other's eyes with foreheads pressed together. They could stay there all night, but Aang sighed. "I probably should get going before Sokka comes."

"Okay." She sounded disappointed as she looked down at her feet.

"Goodnight, Katara." He smiled back at her.

She smiled back. "Night, Aang. See you in the morning."

Aang walked through the door, hesitating for he didn't want to leave. He looked back at her and noticed she already stood up to organize and wash up. He shut the door slowly behind him, going to his room and crashing on to the bed as he kicked the door shut.. Just now he realized how much the earthbending actually took out of him. He fell asleep there, fully clothed and on top of his covers with his limbs bent in every direction. Despite the uncomfortable looking position, he wore a smile on his face.

 **Thank you so much for reading. I hoped you liked it. A lot of things happened this chapter with the make out scenes and the fight scenes. As well as the discussion between Aang and Katara.**

 **Anywho. Please review and thanks for being patient with me.**


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